Study Finds Bad Billing Experiences Delay $330 Billion in Consumer Payments Each Year

Paying a bill may never rank among life’s great pleasures. Still, it shouldn’t feel like a test of patience every month.

“The Service Commerce Performance Gap” is a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced in collaboration with Paymentus.

The report examines service commerce, the ongoing relationship built through bills, payments, messages and customer support. These interactions repeat throughout the customer relationship. Each one gives providers a chance to build trust or create frustration.

Many providers focus on sending bills and collecting payments at the lowest possible cost. Consumers take a broader view. They expect clear charges, flexible payment options and fast help when something goes wrong. They also expect billing tools to work as easily as the digital shopping experiences they use every day.

PYMNTS Intelligence surveyed 2,566 U.S. consumers and 240 billing decision-makers across auto loans, healthcare, home insurance and utilities. The research compares what providers believe they deliver with what consumers say they experience.

In “The Service Commerce Performance Gap,” learn how:

• Consumers want payment options they often can’t use. Forty-one percent would prefer to pay recurring bills with a digital wallet, but only 10% do. More than half prefer credit cards, while just 18% use them for these payments.
• Providers offer flexibility but make it hard to access. Seventy-seven percent offer payment extensions or grace periods. Only 15% let customers request them through self-service tools. Many customers must call for help before they can adjust how or when they pay.
• Younger consumers have far less patience with billing problems. Generation Z rates every industry 12 to 16 points below baby boomers. More than half of Gen Z consumers find the payment process frustrating or time-consuming. Their dissatisfaction can signal future payment delays and customer losses.

The report also shows where providers are investing. Many continue to spend on bill delivery and bill review, even though customers report greater problems with payment choice, flexibility and support. Legacy technology adds another hurdle. Seventy percent of providers say older systems limit their ability to improve billing.

These findings give billing, payments and finance leaders a clearer view of the customer experience. They also help customer service and digital strategy teams identify changes that can produce faster payments and stronger relationships.

Download the report to see where providers and consumers disagree, which improvements customers value most, and how better billing can support loyalty and cash flow.

About the Report

“The Service Commerce Performance Gap” is a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced in collaboration with Paymentus. It draws on two parallel surveys conducted in March 2026. The consumer edition surveyed 2,566 U.S. consumers March 13-29, 2026 across four recurring-bill categories: automobile loans, healthcare and medical, property and home insurance, and electricity and gas. The sample was balanced to match the U.S. adult population by age, gender, education and income.

The service provider edition surveyed 240 U.S. billing and payment decision-makers across the same four industries, balanced by vertical (25% each). Respondents were screened for in-depth knowledge of and decision-making responsibility for the customer billing and payment experience, and all represented companies generating $250 million or more in annual revenue, balanced across three revenue tiers: $250M–$1B (43%), $1B–$2.5B (31%) and $2.5B+ (26%).