GLASTONBURRY, Conn.—A new bill payment and money transfer solution has entered the market that leverages artificial intelligence to “streamline” how consumers pay their bills and manage their daily financial lives.
Digital payments company Payrailz opened for business Nov. 15, offering advanced bill payment and money transfer solutions to banks and credit unions. The company says it is focused on community financial institutions, particularly credit unions.
Leveraging AI and predictive modeling, the Payrailz solution works with an FI’s core system to monitor consumers’ accounts and payment activity to not only recommend bill payment options, but also make the payment for the consumer.
CEO Fran Duggan described to CUToday.info how that might play out for a credit union member.
“You get a text message from your credit union saying, ‘Hey John, we see you have three bills coming due in the next couple weeks which total more than what you have in your checking account now. Would you like to transfer money from savings, and have us pay those bills for you?’ Right from your phone’s screen you tap yes and we take it from there.”
Next Customer Service Step
Duggan said that is the next step in customer service that many consumers are going to expect some day.
“With the Payrailz solution we can see not only what you pay but we know when you get paid,” said Duggan. “So the credit union might send a message saying, ‘You have several bills coming but not enough money in your account to pay them now. But you will have the money Thursday when you get paid. Would you like us to wait until Thursday night and pay those for you?’”
Fran Duggan
Duggan insists that just like driverless cars are coming, this is where the “world is headed” with bill payment and money movement. He said it is a natural fit for credit unions, which look for ways to add value to their members’ financial lives.
“The value we are adding is that next step in bill payment that others are not offering,” said Duggan. “Leverage the account holder data that is there, learn from it, learn from how people interact and then proactively make recommendations and then complete the task. We take the work away from people. Who looks forward to going home at the end of the night and managing a bunch of bills, maybe some you forgot to pay and get hit with a $35 overdraft charge. We want to make bill payments almost an afterthought for people. This makes people’s lives easier.”
Duggan said the solution can simply be used to help consumers effectively move their money.
“You could see a member has accumulated some extra savings they have sitting in their checking account, send them a note congratulating them and let them know about a special savings offer they could shift that extra money into,” said Duggan.
Duggan noted that Payrailz can schedule recurring payments for consumers and then make them.
“We see this as becoming like a cash manager for consumers’ day-to-day banking needs,” he said.
Consumers Expect Simplicity
Dugan expects financial institutions to offer the service free to their account holders, but said the decision lies with each bank and credit union. He said the FI pays Payrailz per-transaction.
“Payrailz is engineering solutions that address the cultural need for technology to simplify our lives,” said Duggan. “Consumers today are growing to expect the same experience of convenience and simplicity from their financial institutions that they demand in all aspects of their lives, whether ordering food to be delivered to their homes or arranging to be driven across town.”