In 1995, people talking about the future of money were predicting confidently that checks were on their way out, and that by now we'd all be using electronic billing systems exclusively.

We were also going to have flying cars, right? And live in space, wearing jumpsuits. 

It made sense, fifteen years ago, to assume that online invoicing would be the norm by now. Everyone agrees that it's cheaper and safer, and most people agree that it's  more convenient, too. It's certainly more environmentally responsible. In the 1990s, the numbers of people using such services were doubling annually, a trend which would have led to universal EIPP by now had it continued.

In the 21st century, adoption of EIPP continued, but a bit more slowly. In 2005,  69% of American households paid at least one monthly bill online. In 2007, online payments outstripped checks. People in the west and the south (where the most e-savvy consumers live, according to people who track these things) now make as much as 80% of their transactions online.

Nearly universal buy-in for EIPP is a reality now in Finland, we're told.

But for the United States as a whole, only 42% of transactions take place online.

Consumer demand is still the main reason businesses choose to offer electronic inovicing, and consumers are usually ahead of businesses on this, though more businesses choose to pay their own vendors electronically (when they're being consumers)than offer the service to their customers.

Consumers overwhelmingly prefer to pay their bills electronically, in spite of lingering concerns:

• 15% don't understand how it works, and therefore feel nervous about it.
• 51% choose to pay bills online for environmental reasons.
• 44% do it for the convenience. 

And yet the average wired American consumer pays bills in three different ways every month: 11 online, but the others with mailed checks or in person, usually because online payments aren't an option.

Why don't businesses offer e-invoicing, even when they choose to pay their own bills electronically?

Concern about costs and the effort of shifting over are the most commonly cited barriers.

It's probably the same with the flying cars. 

Call us at 701.356.9010 to discuss any concerns you may have about e-invoicing; we'll be able to reassure you. Flying cars? Maybe not.