STAMFORD, CT (March 2, 2000) -- Internet billing, one of the key building blocks in the rapidly emerging world of e-commerce, will be a topic of discussion on "The Next Wave." The weekly television series will be broadcast on CNBC, airing as paid programming, March 5 at 1:30 p.m. EST, and sponsored by a group of leading corporations involved in the new Internet economy. 

The Shift From Paper to Digital Form
"Paper-based documents such as statements, notices and bills fulfill key functions for virtually all organizations," says Schumacher, "and in many instances they act as a 'regular appointment' with the customer and can represent as much as 80 percent of a firm's total annual customer contact." 

Companies pioneering the use of the Internet are now exploring how best to manage these critical customer contacts in a web-based form. Internet billing is emerging as a key focus because it is a fast, low cost way to distribute the bills and collect payments. Plus, companies can also use Internet billing to deliver highly targeted one-to-one messages that help build strong customer relationships, grow the enterprise and even achieve a competitive edge. 

Consumers benefit as well because they can view and pay bills online quickly, and no longer need to open and sort through paper bills, write checks, or stuff and stamp envelopes. Since the funds involved in Internet billing are transferred electronically, the risk of lost or delayed payments is significantly reduced, which benefits everyone involved. 

The Internet represents an immense opportunity for businesses, especially for those organizations that are involved with statement processing and the resulting receipt of funds, according to Vinton Cerf, Internet pioneer and Senior Vice President for Internet Architecture and Technology at MCI WorldCom. "We estimate that the total value of business conducted on the net may reach more than $3 trillion, or roughly 10 percent of the world economy, in less than four years," he says. "Businesses are just now discovering all kinds of new business models as they explore ways to conduct e-commerce." 

What's driving the growth? Speed, convenience and interactivity, according to Cerf. "When an electronic statement arrives, consumers can take action immediately, either to make a payment, or to transfer the data in digital form to a personal finance program to help track expenses, or to interact with the electronic messages or links imbedded in the statement." Bills in paper form rarely trigger those types of spontaneous actions by consumers. 

"Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment is a fundamental building block of e-commerce," says Schumacher, "because it enables firms to provide a digital interface or interactive gateway which can help educate customers or aid in the marketing of additional products and services." 

Pitney Bowes solutions are currently employed by more than 500 of the Global 2000 business enterprises to process high-integrity customer communications via hard copy mail, giving the firm "a unique opportunity to serve as a bridge to the emerging world of web-based bill presentment and payment," continues Schumacher. 

Many of the firms also employ advanced, valued-added capabilities such as intelligent inserting and print stream manipulation, which can be important precursors to effective web-based solutions. 

"Pitney Bowes has been very successful in helping thousands of companies around the world mail critical customer messages in paper form," says Cerf. "Now they are seeking to build on that expertise to help those same firms capture the benefits of web-based messaging." 

Flexible and Comprehensive
The Pitney Bowes Internet billing solution is encompassed by docSense's new Digital Document Delivery^TM (D3) capability which is already proven successful in commercial use and can serve as a natural extension of current billing processes in either business-to-consumer or business-to-business applications. 

The D3 solution is especially attractive to rapidly evolving web-based businesses, as well as firms uncertain about how to use the Internet, because it can be implemented in a variety of forms and easily accommodates either pay or no-pay applications, according to Schumacher. 

"Companies can implement our D3 technology using a traditional 'turn key' model, or they can minimize up-front capital costs by implementing D3 using a service bureau format, which enables them to offer an electronic billing option quickly and at a fraction of the ongoing unit cost of processing traditional, paper-based mail," says Schumacher. 

Billers can also choose to have Pitney Bowes extract key data from their traditional paper-based billing processes and have it transmitted to bill payment consolidators for eventual presentment to customers. 

Additionally, companies that distribute statements only—such as trade confirmations from brokerage firms or statements confirming investments in 40l(k) plans or mutual funds—can still utilize the Pitney Bowes electronic delivery technology. 

The benefit? The firms are seen as responding to the growing consumer preference for faster delivery and easier handling of routine, ongoing communications. 

The Internet billing segment features an interview with Karl Schumacher, President of docSense, a Pitney Bowes business that provides software and services for mailers shifting to an Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) or Internet billing capability. 

Previously, Mr. Schumacher served as Vice President and General Manager of the Document Factory Solutions group for Pitney Bowes where he also guided the development of the firm's Internet billing strategy. 

Noted actor Leonard Nimoy hosts the 30-minute program, which is one of several focusing on new developments in e-commerce. 

docSense is a new business of Pitney Bowes Inc. It provides software and services that enable enterprises to custom-tailor and deliver traditional and newer forms of critical customer communications via the Internet and other electronic channels. For more information about docSense, visit www.docSense.com. Pitney Bowes is a $4.4 billion provider of informed mail and message management. For more information visit www.pitneybowes.com.