Expedited payments to avoid late payment penalties

[img_assist|nid=10316|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100] An increasing number of banks are predicted to be implementing expedited electronic payments in the near future. Paying a fee for expedited payments is more convenient and cost-effective than paying a fee for late penalty as the commission charged for the expedited payment transaction is many times less than the fee imposed on a customer who delayed its bill settlement.

Among those developing or offering some form of emergency payments solution now are such bill payment vendors as Yodlee, Online Resources and Fiserv's CheckFree. Settling their payments online consumers can use the option that allows them to pay specific bills in an expedited manner for a fee.

Integrated emergency payments are planned to be introduced by Fiserv to be available to its base of 2,200 financial institutions by December. The new offering will be based on CheckFree Web RXP, the firm's online bill payment service. These emergency payments differ from "faster" same- or next-day payments that Fiserv and many others offer in that the emergency payments offer real-time confirmation to avoid a late penalty.

As noted by Adil Moussa, an analyst for Aite Group in Boston the market of expedited payments depends on the fee. The system will enjoy much success if the fee is reasonable and the customers don't feel like they're being ripped off.