Define and explain how EBPP systems work. Describe each of the main EBPP business models

What will be an ideal response?

EBPP refers to electronic billing presentment and payment systems, which are forms of online payment systems for monthly bills. Analysts expect electronic bill presentment and payment to become one of the fastest growing e-commerce businesses in the United States over the next several years because everyone involved stands to benefit from the process. Billers will cut costs by eliminating printing, paper, envelopes, postage, and the processing of paper checks and payments. Furthermore, EBPP will offer billers an opportunity to enhance customer service and target market. Customers will save time and eliminate checks and postage. Companies can use EBPP to present bills to individual customers electronically or they can contract with a service to handle all billing and payment collection for them. There are two main types of EBPP business models: biller-direct and consolidator. In biller-direct systems, a biller delivers the bill to customers via its own Web site or via a third-party's site. A service bureau is often used to provide the necessary infrastructure. The second major type of EBPP business model is the consolidator model. In this model, a third party, such as a financial institution or portal, aggregates all bills for consumers and ideally permits one-stop bill payment (pay anyone).