We’ve seen a lot of different ways to pay a bill using a mobile device, and we’ll likely see more to come before it’s all over.
One particularly unusual method came from a startup called Plastiq, which allows its users to pay with a photo…and a connection with a credit or debit card.
Plastiq is currently only available for iPhone, and allows users to take a photo of the bill and process it through a set of steps.
With the photo in frame, Plastiq can identify key elements of the bill like name, amount due, due date and beyond.
That information can then be used to prompt several key functions, like reminder notices about when the bill is due and even the ability to pay it, even if the target in question doesn’t actually accept credit cards.
To use the service, Plastiq charges between one and 2.5 percent of the total, and is currently only available for users in the United States and Canada.
Before it went into full mobile app, reports note, it has been running under a testing operation in Canada, before stepping up into the United States with a Web-based application.
Now, with around half a million customers in play, Plastiq stepped into the mobile arena, where it’s delivering quite a bit of value for repeat users.
Offering an easier way to pay bills isn’t exactly a new concept, but it is a concept that’s welcome for its users.
Filling out checks, putting same in an envelope and placing same in the mail is a practice so anachronistic in nature that only a comparative handful engage in it any more.
Bill payment systems have been operating for years, with convenience being the biggest draw, but this might be one of the most convenient versions seen yet.
Throw in the potential value that can be realized by using a credit card to pay bills that might not ordinarily be payable by credit card, and the benefits therein realized—frequent flyer miles, reward points and the like—and Plastiq might be quite valuable.
Convenience is a big draw by itself, but convenience and rewards together is a hard prospect to pass up. That’s a combination that could make Plastiq very big, and it’s already got quite a user base behind it to start with.