Allied Payment Network, a provider of online and mobile bill payment services to the financial industry, today announced that mobile banking solutions provider FI-MOBILE has integrated Allied's Picture PayTM into its mobile banking offerings, enabling FI-MOBILE's end users to pay any bill by simply taking a picture of the bill with their mobile device.
FI-MOBILE develops downloadable apps for banks and credit unions that enhance the Internet channel experience for their customers and members. Picture Pay seamlessly integrates within FI-MOBILE's mobile banking solution, providing a quick and simple integration process for FI-MOBILE's financial institution customers. FI-MOBILE's end users can then instantly sign in to their institutions' mobile app and pay any bill with just the snap of a photo.
"Our goal is to help solidify our financial institutions' reputations and enhance their customer and member relationships, not just provide them with offerings that bring in additional revenue, so we are always in search of groundbreaking technology that brings value to our customers and positions them as leaders in the market," said Dan Chaney, CEO of FI-MOBILE. "Allied is the leader in payment capture and Picture Pay is exactly the type of technology we were looking for. Picture Pay also fits well within our model and we are excited to bring this new offering to our customers."
Chaney continued, "There is a paradigm shift that is happening in our industry - when referring to mobile banking, customers used to think of a mobile app that just completes transactions, but this is no longer the case. Today's financial institutions must deliver a full mobile strategy with an extensive list of features, equivalent or better than the self service options currently on their websites, which make banking faster and more convenient, like Picture Pay."
With Picture Pay, users simply take a picture of the bill, enter the amount and payment date, and the bill is paid. End users also have the added convenience of same-day bill payment options. After implementing Picture Pay, financial institutions have reported an increase in bill pay and mobile adoption rates, as well as an increase in customer retention.
"The banking industry is incredibly competitive, so we want to provide cost effective, innovative technologies that help smaller institutions compete with the larger banks and provide services that their competitors do not even offer," said Ralph Marcuccilli, president of Allied. "Picture Pay will not only help FI-MOBILE's customers differentiate themselves in the market, but it removes the biggest barrier to bill pay adoption - the perceived inconvenience of setting up a new payee online . Breaking down this barrier drives bill pay and mobile adoption, which in turn increases customer retention and loyalty."