The digital world is evolving rapidly, propelling the public sector toward electronic solutions.
Payment processing is a critical part of the constituent experience. While many government agencies still rely on traditional paper billing methods, digital payment systems are a “tried and true” method for everyone, from urban, bustling city offices to constituents living in rural areas, far and wide.
If you’re curious about electronic payment processing systems and how they could benefit various government departments—and remove the pain of payment for your constituents—you’re in the right place. Through an electronic government billing system, you can satisfy citizens’ needs by going digital.
Finding the perfect bill payment system can be an extensive process—not all digital billing systems are created equal. For government organizations, it’s essential that citizens feel the process of making payments is simple, flexible, and secure.
There are solutions that make the switch much easier. This is where electronic billing presentment and payment (EBPP) emerges as a viable option.
Let’s dive into the specific benefits for governments and options for implementation.
What Is EBPP? Meaning and Applications Explored
EBPP stands for electronic billing presentment and payment. Organizations can use this platform to allow their customers, or citizens, to pay online.
Depending on the type of EBPP system you choose, you can:
- Give customers the choice of paper or online billing statements.
- Send reminders to customers by email or text message.
- Let customers pay bills through bank transfers, credit cards, or debit cards.
- Get payments online or over the phone.
- Have a mobile-friendly system.
- Let customers schedule payments.
This system has become a popular choice for all professional fields because it’s easy to use, keeps information safe, and streamlines the payment process. The widespread use of EBPP is only expected to grow—the market is expected to handle 41.7 billion electronic bills by 2030.
The result? A boom in modernized electronic payment processing powered by best-in-class EBPP solution providers.
Electronic Payment Solutions for Government Departments
Government organizations, big or small, can gain value for their citizens by using an EBPP system. Unlike the private sector, government organizations must answer to a large group of citizens rather than a small board of directors.
How can an EBPP elevate the experience of citizens? There are countless use cases, one example is to eliminate the queue at the DMV to pay for car registration and traffic tickets. People can easily make payments online.
Many use cases in the public sector would greatly benefit from adding an EBPP, meaning that overall, it would make payment processing more efficient and convenient. Other services citizens can pay for through an EBPP include:
- Taxes
- Utilities
- Permits
- Licenses
- Fees
Due to this convenience factor, approximately 26% of people said they would pay their bills faster if an online government billing system existed.
Benefits of an EBPP System
Setting up an EBPP system has many benefits for both citizens and government employees. These include:
- Faster payments
- Fewer missed or late payments
- Reduced costs
- The ease of making payments from anywhere
- Trackable information
- Simplified payment management
- Less paperwork and workload for staff
- Greater sustainability
- Safer information storage
One of the best benefits of using digital platforms for electronic payment processing is leveraging an all-in-one hosting option. Having a single platform for payment processing means your office can access it in real time from any location. Your data is always safe and secure and never resides on your local systems or network.
And opting for digital payment solutions means you can utilize mobile payment options, enabling people to make secure payments based on their preferences across multiple channels.
Ultimately, the best EBPP solution providers ensure that electronic payment processing solutions are secure and frictionless.
Unpacking 3 Major Pain Points of eBilling
One common complaint from organizations is that the world of electronic payment processing is complicated. Rest assured, there are solutions. When learning the ins and outs of payment processing, your agency can get help.
In searching for the perfect solution, look for an electronic payment processing and revenue management platform that offers reliable fixes for these three pain points.
Pain Point #1: Disconnected & Manual Processes
Researchers found that out of the hundreds of businesses participating in their survey, 34% of them say their payment operations are still manual.
The same study found that 51% of financial leads report their teams are wasting lots of time (eight hours a week on average!) on payment operations issues. This included slow payments, errors, and poor reconciliation processes. On top of that, nearly half of the surveyed companies reported having five or more bank accounts with no integrated management solution. What do these numbers tell us? Many companies and organizations are still operating with disconnected, manual systems.
A fragmented experience can make for frustrated employees and citizens. If your constituents don’t understand your payment system and get lost along the way, it increases the chances of late or missed payments.
Plus, when your payment processing system interrupts your cash flow, you’ll start feeling the pain of payment (or lack thereof).
The solution? A better platform.
Integrated Stability in Electronic Payment Processing
In contrast, consistency can be a game-changer. Once you provide a convenient and consistent payment processing experience, you’ll build more trust with your constituents and make it more enticing to pay on time. An automated payment system can help with this initiative by providing additional convenience.
The risk of manual data entry is a tale as old as time, but it’s especially relevant when talking about billing and finances. One number entered incorrectly can throw off an entire reporting and accounting system.
This is where an integrated payment system can elevate the internal experience. By connecting your payment processor and revenue management system to the other back-end tools, you increase visibility and control.
Pain Point #2: Unmanaged Risk & Inconsistent Compliance
If one thing is essential to payment processing, it’s security. If your platform can’t offer adequate compliance, safety, and fraud protection, you’re putting yourself and your constituents at risk.
Depending on your industry, a payment processor should be PCI-, HIPAA-, and SaaS-compliant.
Monitoring Compliance and Mitigating Risks
Many organizations want to monitor spending to ensure that all purchases are policy-compliant. This is especially true for government agencies that have to adhere to strict protocols. Anelectronic payment processing platform can offer visibility into these activities to help ensure compliance across the board.
Offering Strong Fraud Protection
Fraud protection is another critical component of a sound revenue management system. A variety of scams travel around on the internet, and the last thing you want is to risk your agency or your citizens’ sensitive financial data. A secure platform can protect all parties involved.
Opt for a payment processor and revenue management platform that:
- Enhances security
- Gives detailed reporting history
- Remains integrated and transparent
Doing this will outfit your organization with a modern, automated solution.
Pain Point #3: A Disappointing Customer Experience
There has never been a point in history where customer expectations were higher than they are now. Regardless of tender type or channel, it’s crucial to meet the expectations of your constituents with a modernized government billing system. People expect specific payment channels to be seamless, including online payment portals, mobile payments, and over-the-phone payments.
Other channels may also be productive to implement into your organization. These can include:
- Text-to-pay
- IVR
- Self-service portals
- Automatic payments
Allowing citizens to choose their preferred payment channel will go a long way in increasing the convenience of the process. The more convenient it is for citizens to pay, the more likely they are to pay on time.
Why CORE?
By now, you have a good understanding of many government organizations’ pain points when looking for an integrated payment system. The reality is: You need one that ticks all the boxes.
CORE is a payment solution, revenue management, and consumer engagement software in one convenient platform. CORE was founded to serve the modern enterprise, and our goal is to deliver a seamless payment system, facilitate revenue management, and strengthen consumer engagement.
Today, more than 1,600 organizations use CORE daily. This surge in the adoption of our electronic payment processing platform represents a collective recognition that digital readiness is not just a choice but a necessity. This increasingly strong focus on empowering digital-ready experiences continues to sweep across industries and organizations, fundamentally changing how you enable more reliable, sustainable, and secure revenue management and customer engagement solutions.
Many government organizations are trying to patch together various solutions, data sources, and strategies. The harsh truth is that, ultimately, they’re failing to create a cohesive, correct process.
That’s where CORE comes in. We believe you can thrive in today’s “Experience Era” by modernizing connected experiences between local government and its citizens.
As an EBPP solution provider, CORE provides a way for you to match the speed of the evolving consumer experience without sacrificing control by:
- Inciting immediacy through anytime, anywhere access
- Enabling visibility into every step of payment and engagement activities
Powerful Integrations
We created our integrations through thoughtful, strategic consideration. Our electronic payment processing software powerfully integrates with the tools, software, ERPs, and financial systems your enterprise leverages daily. It allows you to work off one platform for all your revenue management needs. It’s also an integrated platform, which means it connects to your existing front and back office tools.
Safe and Secure Platform
CORE utilizes role-based security to keep your intellectual capital safe. We ensure information only goes into the systems it should while limiting access to the people who should have it. As an enterprise-class application, we designed CORE to support industry and regulatory requirements for compliance, data privacy, and information security. Our solution is SaaS-, PCI-, and HIPAA-compliant.
Learn More About CORE’s eBilling Services
CORE is a PCI Level 1 Service Provider. What does this mean for you? We’ve processed millions of credit card transactions for years. Our reputation as a trusted, secure, efficient payment processor means your private information will be protected.
Our platform includes services like:
- Revenue management
- Payment solutions
- Customer engagement strategies
- Transaction information tracking
- Information security through encryption, tokenization, and hosted solutions
Government agencies can benefit from taking the complexity out of electronic payment processing and making the integration simple. Contact us today to set up a meeting and learn more about our platform. We’ll show you how it can work for your organization and improve your citizens’ experience.
CORE is a leading provider of specialized, targeted content for government organizations. Explore our recommended resources for further reading on government payment solutions.
Who Should Use CORE?
CORE is committed to providing efficient, useful, and powerful electronic payment processing and revenue management services to enterprise organizations. We primarily serve the higher education, healthcare, and government sectors.
Government organizations can benefit from CORE’s highly secure, easy-to-operate, and compliant platform. Whether you’re coming from a small government agency or a large-scale organization, CORE can provide an enterprise-level solution to your payment processing and revenue management woes.
If you’re ready to take your customer engagement levels to new heights and accurately manage your revenue, reach out and let’s have a conversation.
