The End of Paper-based Bills

Question / Pain #1:  Why must bills come in the mail and be paid by snail-mail check (or sometimes over the phone during business hours)?

Question / Pain #2:  Why must the bill payment workflow be manual, resulting in waisted time and forgotten bills?

Answer:  Legacy systems & dinosaur companies

Use Case:  Bill from medical lab arrives via snail-mail 6 weeks after appointment.  No further reminders.  Did the customer get/pay the bill?

Solution Idea:

• Create a system to make it brain-dead simple for companies to request payment from customers via their modern unique id:  Email (not street address!).

• Send customers a simple email requesting payment.  Send reminder emails if necessary.

• Offer modern payment options: PayPal, Direct Deposit, Credit Card.

• Throw in payment analytics for companies / users.

Value add to dinosaur companies:

• Reduce customer service and mail costs.

• Increase likelihood / timeliness of collecting debts owed.

• Happier customers.

Value add to users:

• No more paper bills.

• No more writing / mailing checks.

• Automatic reminders + painless payments = no more procrastinating / forgetting bills.

• Better understanding of personal finance (partnership with Mint?).

• Happier life.

Thoughts? Please share your comments below.