PAYMENTUS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Paymentus (NYSE: PAY) is a leading provider of cloud-based, billing and payment technology solutions for direct billers, businesses, banks, credit unions and fintechs. Our next-generation product suite is made possible through a modern technology stack that currently serves the billing, payments and communication needs of 2,200 clients across North America.

The Paymentus omnichannel platform is a Best in Class electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) platform that provides consumers with easy-to-use, flexible and secure electronic bill payment experiences through their preferred payment channel and type. Paymentus serves billers and financial institutions of all sizes across a variety of industry verticals including utilities, financial services, insurance, government, consumer finance, telecommunications and healthcare.

IPN refers to Paymentus’ proprietary Instant Payment Network®. This expansive network offers billers, businesses, banks, fintechs and everyday consumers more ways to pay, get paid and move money. As an integrated, real-time digital bill presentment, payment and money movement network, IPN connects industry-leading partners (e.g., PayPal, Walmart, Green Dot) and thousands of billers to our integrated billing, payment and reconciliation capabilities.

EBPP stands for electronic bill presentment and payment platform. An EBPP platform combines all aspects of the billing lifecycle including delivering bills electronically, delivering bills by paper as needed and enabling digital payments and communications.

Consider a typical bill presentment and payment lifecycle: your utility provider emails your bill based on your account communication preferences. Within the bill you are given a link to pay your bill through the provider’s website. Once you have logged into your utility account, you then make a payment using your preferred payment method. This payment is processed and posted with your utility provider, and you receive an email confirmation that your bill has been paid. Payment and posting information is then saved to your account details. All of this occurs within your utility provider’s EBPP platform.

Billing and payments are a natural extension of any business and provide a unique opportunity to engage and assist customers at one of the most important touchpoints in the customer lifecycle.

For billers in competitive markets (e.g. insurers, communications service providers, subscription service providers), an intuitive billing and payment experience that offers a wide range of payment methods and channels can serve as a way to attract and retain customers, and reduce churn. For essential bills such as taxes and utilities, an optimal billing and payment experience ensures more on-time payments and fewer delinquencies and service interruptions, which can improve cash flow.

One-way billers can provide consumers with such an experience is to offer a wholly inclusive payment experience. It’s essential to make it easy for every customer to pay with the widest array of payment channels and methods including text, web, IVR, chatbot, voice assistants and AutoPay. More options ensure customers can pay in whatever way fits best with their lifestyle and preferences and is shown to increase customer satisfaction scores.

Bill pay notifications and reminders are an essential part of the billing and payment process and should be standard within any electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) platform. These communication channels can include paper bills, eBills, text communications, email notifications and digital wallet notifications. Notifications can range from presenting actual bills themselves to payment reminders by phone and email, payment confirmations and late payment notices. Creating a comprehensive communication strategy tailored to an end user's needs is a proven way to increase on-time payments.

Real-time payments are instant payments that are posted in real time. Both the data and money movement happens at the fastest speed possible for maximum visibility and optimization.

Beyond speed, real-time payments offer a host of benefits for billers. While traditional methods such as ACH necessitate batch processing, real-time payments offer single integration files, single posting files, single deposits, single reconciliation, etc. Real-time payments also allow for more data to be attached to each transaction, helping billers best track payments and optimize reporting.

Digital wallets are becoming one of the most popular bill payment types in the world, making them an essential part of any omnichannel electronic bill presentment and payment platform.

Paymentus has partnered with PayPal to enable digital wallet bill pay through the Paymentus Instant Payment Network® (IPN). This partnership enables billers to offer customers the ability to pay their bills by using PayPal, Venmo and PayPal Credit.

Additionally, cash-preferred customers can digitize their cash at thousands of retail locations and add it to their PayPal accounts by bringing cash to participating retailers and having it converted by a cashier. Customers can then use their PayPal account to pay bills.

Paymentus also enables Apple Pay, Google Pay and Amazon Pay digital wallets to provide further choice and leverage the ever-expanding marketing place of digital wallets.

The Paymentus-PayPal partnership through the Paymentus Instant Payment Network® (IPN) enables the use of the PayPal App for bill payments. This one-app experience allows customers to access bills from multiple providers, receive billing notifications and alerts and pay bills using their existing PayPal account right from their tablet or smartphone. This allows bills to be accessible on a device and application most consumers are using multiple times a week or month.

The PayPal App also allows customers to digitize their cash at more than 100,000 retail locations nationwide. Cash-preferred and underbanked customers convert cash with a cashier and have it uploaded to their PayPal account through the app to use the balance to pay bills.

Customers can even pay bills using crypto currency through the PayPal App’s Checkout with Crypto offering. Customers can transfer or sell cryptocurrency including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, and available funds can be used for bill pay within the app. Your biller will be paid in USD from the crypto sale or a backup funding source.

It is estimated that 5.9 million U.S. households are unbanked, with nearly 19 million being considered underbanked. Whether due to a lack of credit, primary job as a gig worker or simply having a preference for cash, these unbanked and underbanked consumers need simple, convenient ways to pay their bills.

As such, billers should offer multiple cash bill pay options as part of their comprehensive billing and payment strategy. This payment inclusivity ensures cash-preferred customers can easily pay their bills.

Paymentus enables inclusive billing and payment experiences by offering multiple options for consumers to pay in cash in person. Cash bill payments are available at participating national grocery stores and drug store retailers such as CVS, Walgreens and Walmart. Customers can also take advantage of paying in person at their biller's designated sites where point-of-sale (POS) devices and kiosks can be offered through the Paymentus solution.

Customers can pay bills in person at retail stores including national grocery and drug store retailers like CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and more, by utilizing Paymentus' extensive network and partnerships. Instant Payment Network® partnerships with PayPal, Walmart and Green Dot allow customers, particularly those who are unbanked, underbanked and cash-preferred, to enjoy a convenient, digitized payment experience.

Customers opting for a digitized in-person payment can pay bills with cash or debit at the registers or designated areas within participating national retailers. For instance, with scan to pay, customers select “cash” as their payment option within the payment portal. Customers then receive a barcode that they then bring to the cashier of a local participating retailer. The cashier scans the barcode and the customer is then enabled to pay with cash when checking out.

Funds are immediately posted, and customers and billers can digitally track all payments. This payment option also provides customers with more options and convenient locations to pay bills in person without having to visit their biller’s office during select hours when staff is available.

Pay-by-SMS, or pay-by-text as it is commonly known, is an electronic bill pay channel wherein customers opt-in to receive a text message containing their current balance, bill due date and reminder that their bill is ready. Customers can then provide a one-word response to instantly and securely pay their bill using their saved credit card, debit card, digital wallet or bank account information associated with their account. Once complete, customers then receive a text confirmation confirming receipt of payment.

Paymentus offers pay-by-email as part of our Best in Class electronic billing presentment and payment (EBPP) platform.

Within the Paymentus offering are two types of mobile-friendly email billing processes: 1) traditional “bill-ready” email with a link to your biller’s website to see bill details, process payments online or view bill images (including historical information) inside of the user interface 2) email with a password-protected “Smart PDF” eBill that can be paid within the PDF itself, which removes the need to be directed to the biller site.

A peer-to-peer (P2P) payment is a payment sent through P2P or money transfer apps, notably Venmo, Zelle and PayPal. Consumers fund their P2P accounts by linking to their bank account or a debit card, with money being sent through mobile devices. While each app offers a slightly different experience, senders generally only need a receiver’s name, email address or phone number.

A key difference of the Paymentus P2P offering is that unlike other P2P networks, which can only transfer money between users of the same app, Paymentus allows users to send money to anyone without network limitations.

An account-to-account (A2A) payment allows customers to send funds to and from financial institutions. Paymentus A2A allows customers to enroll and connect multiple accounts from their financial institutions, which they can then use to make payments, fund investments and stay current on their loans.

Interactive voice response (IVR) is a cloud-based, real-time, computer-operated phone system that allows customers to perform bill payment and account management activities over the phone and without the assistance of a live representative.

Through voice prompts and keypad inputs, customers can hear their bill balance and payment due dates, confirm amounts, and make payments by credit/debit cards and eChecks. By allowing customers to self-serve, IVR payments have proven effective in reducing delinquencies and call center volumes, as well as improving operational efficiencies.

Secure Service® is the only patented and Level-1, PCI-compliant solution that helps to securely capture payment details over the phone without compromising customer service. Customers wishing to make live phone payments enjoy the benefits of a real-time employee and bill-payer interaction.

Payment card details are entered by the consumer, concealed from the customer service agent and transmitted through the biller’s system securely, removing the biller’s compliance burden.

Online bill pay is one of the safest ways for customers to pay their bills. The regulations governing online payments are rigorous and consistently updated to meet new market challenges and requirements.

The Paymentus platform is independently audited and fully compliant with the latest regulations such as Level 1 PCI, NACHA, PII, HIPPA and more.