Collection Agency Survey Finds that Despite Customer Demand for EIPP, Security Concerns are Hindering Adoption

Collection and BPO giant Vengroff, Williams & Associates (VWA) recently announced survey results which revealed that despite significant customer demands and benefits such as improved customer service, faster payment and reduced telephone support needed, security concerns are still hindering vendor adoption of EIPP.

As financial applications move to the Web, one way to ease security concerns is to make sure vendors are SAS-70 compliant. An internationally recognized auditing standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), SAS-70 compliance ensures that the provider has been through an in-depth audit of their control activities, which include controls over information technology and related processes

“With security measures such as SAS-70 compliance, Web-based applications have made great strides in the past few years making security concerns a thing of the past,” said Mark Vengroff, CEO of Vengroff, Williams and Associates. “Some of the largest global organizations rely on VWA’s SAS-70 compliant, Web-based applications as they recognize the benefits of reduced operational cost, faster payments and satisfied customers, far outweigh the perceived security concerns.”

“In today’s global economy, service providers must demonstrate that they have adequate controls and safeguards when they host or process data belonging to their customers,” said David Schmidt, Managing Director of analyst firm A2 Resources. “Additionally, the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 make SAS-70 audit reports even more important for service organizations endeavoring to provide evidence of control within their systems. Companies not using the Web for financial applications are missing out on a significant opportunity to further optimize their operations.”

The VWA survey conducted in July 2006, polled over 350 financial, collections and receivables executives at mid- to large-sized global companies in varying industries and found that:

• 62% of all companies indicate customer demand for electronic billing and payment, yet only one-third of companies offer EIPP today
• 52% of companies want to present bills via the internet
• 56.2% are concerned about the security of Web-based applications, their biggest barrier to entry
• 73.9% believe that EIPP would speed up customer payments
• 69.1% believe that EIPP would improve customer satisfaction
• 39.5% use the Web to conduction financial transactions
• 59% only use the Internet for research and/or email
• 94.8% are comfortable using the Web to conduct transactions