Bill.me lifts on-time bill payments with open banking

Bill.me has added open banking through Ecommpay, a change that lifted on-time bill payments by 17% within three months.

Bill.me provides bill management services to more than 200,000 users across Europe. It lets them receive recurring bills from more than 300 companies and pay several bills in a single transaction. Customers had previously paid by card through Ecommpay's payment system, which Bill.me has used since 2017.

The new payment option has been adopted quickly in markets where it is available. Around 70% of monthly payments in those countries are now made through open banking, according to the companies.

The shift gives Bill.me another way to collect payments directly from customers' bank accounts rather than through card networks. It also lowers processing costs compared with card transactions and gives users access through major local banks in its operating markets.

Open banking payments on the platform use bank application programming interfaces, encrypted data transmission, user consent controls and real-time fraud monitoring. Customer identity is verified through strong customer authentication when payments are made directly through a bank.

For Bill.me, the move is part of a broader push to increase payment activity inside its app as it expands across Europe. The added payment method is intended not only to widen customer choice but also to support growth in new markets where local banking options matter.

Bill management providers and other businesses that rely on recurring consumer payments have been seeking lower-cost alternatives to cards, particularly in Europe, where open banking rules have widened access to bank-to-bank payment services. Supporters of the model argue that direct account-to-account payments can improve conversion and cut fees, though uptake has varied by market and use case.

Bill.me's results suggest bill payments may be one area where the method is gaining traction, especially when users already manage household or recurring obligations through a mobile app. The company aggregates bills from a large network of service providers, making the payment experience central to user retention and collection rates.

Andrey Nemchikov outlined the commercial rationale behind the change.

"As we look to enter new territories, the international coverage and scalability Ecommpay offers is critical," said Andrey Nemchikov, chief operating officer at Bill.me.

"We built Bill.me to make it easier to pay bills, to provide everyone with access to convenient and modern bill management capabilities, and the addition of open banking means it is now easier and more accessible than ever. Ecommpay supports the local banking options our users expect and, since launching the additional payment option, we have seen an increase in payment activity, helping us deliver greater value to our service-provider partners and future-proof our app," Nemchikov said.

Ecommpay, based in London, provides payment processing, acquiring and access to more than 100 payment methods through a single application programming interface. Its open banking service now sits alongside other payment options used by merchants that want to combine local and cross-border payment acceptance.

Growth plans

The relationship between the two companies predates the latest launch, with Bill.me already using Ecommpay for card payments. Adding open banking extends that arrangement at a time when payment firms are trying to persuade merchants that account-to-account transactions can move beyond niche use cases and become a meaningful share of everyday commerce.

For Ecommpay, the Bill.me rollout offers a case study in a category where payment timing matters. Late settlement can have consequences for both end users trying to stay on top of household bills and service providers seeking more predictable cash collection.

Roy Blokker described the work between the two companies as an effort to widen payment choice and support higher payment activity.

"To make its payment experience even stronger, Bill.me wanted to give users more choice while supporting greater payment activity and continued commercial growth," said Roy Blokker, head of strategic sales at Ecommpay.

"Our team worked closely with Bill.me to ensure our open banking solution met their needs and those of their customers. We continue that collaboration to develop the solution as new capabilities become available," Blokker said.