Boston-based Aite Group revealed in a report this week that by 2010, more than $1.3 billion walk-in bill payments will be performed in the United States, including cell phone top-up, up from about $1.0 billion in 2005. Walk-in bill payment processors will generate $1.9 billion in revenues by 2010, up from $1.1 billion in 2006.
“Strong growth in prepaid mobile phone top-up volumes will contribute in reshaping the walk-in bill payment by turning top-up processors into a major distribution force,” said Gwenn Bzard, a research director with Aite Group and author of the report.
“We expect further consolidation between mobile top-up processors and postpaid bill payment providers.”
While the report predicts strong growth for cell phone top-up at the point-of-sale, it also remarks that walk-in locations’ share of total prepaid mobile top-up volumes will fall from 92 percent in 2005 down to 79 percent by 2010. Virtual top-up — when the reload is made directly from the handset using bankcards or ACH — will grow its market share as an alternative to the walk-in channel from 10 percent in 2006 to 21 percent by 2010.
The research also notes that while prepaid cell phone top-up is a boon for the merchant acquiring business, in particular Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), it could create new challenges to the industry over time.
“Although the prospects are still remote today, in-store and virtual top-up methods have the potential to lead wireless phone carriers or related players into merchant acquiring, threatening banks’ and card networks’ market positions,” Bzard said.
Twenty-two vendors are mentioned in this report, including, American Express, American Payment Systems (CheckFree), ACE Cash Express, Alliance Data Systems, Blackstone Calling Cards, Coinstar, Debisys (Emida), Discover, E-Time System, Fidelity Express, Global Express, PaySpot (Euronet), Incomm, IPP of America, MasterCard, MoneyGram, Pay-O-Matic, Precash, Pre-Solutions, Western Union (First Data), Visa U.S.A. and ViaOne Technologies.