Insights » How Americans Pay Their Bills Report: 2022

How Americans Pay Their Bills Report: 2022

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We have just released our first-ever annual report called “How Americans Pay Their Bills Report for 2022”.

The report is part of our “United States of Bill Pay” series, which is our first study of the US bill pay consumer. We have conducted an in-depth analysis of payer demographic data and behavior to provide valuable insights into the evolving consumer attitudes and actions around their household bills.

The report covers various aspects such as stress drivers, hidden costs, most-used tools and platforms, favored communication and reminder methods, and other related trends. The analysis was conducted and released simultaneously with the highest U.S. inflation rates in 40 years.

The report also highlights that there is no standard approach across the payer demographic, and there is a lack of normalcy in today’s economic landscape.

Key Findings from the report revolve around the stress and anxiety that paying bills causes the consumer, especially during this trying economic time. They include, but are not limited to the following themes:

Big Bills = Big Stress for Consumers

Bills are a significant drain on total household income: 

Household bills make up a staggering 36% of the average household income [with average household income of $67,521 and average annual bill spend of $24,032 ($2,003 per month), up from $22,666 in 2020 ($1,889 per month)].

With costs rising across all categories, it’s no surprise then that 12% of respondents report being stressed about their household bills. 

Precarious finances and inconsistent earnings contribute to bill pay anxiety: 

The average household pays 10 bills per month, with 16% of households delaying at least one bill per month. 29% of bill payers have variable income from month to month, which makes making bills in a consistent manner difficult.

The hidden costs of bill pay are cause for concern: 

doxo’s report digs deeper into consumers’ bill pay concerns by excerpting key findings from this year’s doxoINSIGHTS Hidden Costs of Bill Pay report. “Negative Impacts to Their Credit Score” scored the top spot for the first time ever, tying for first place with “Stolen Bill Pay Information” (84%) on this year’s report. Comparatively, while Identity Fraud and Stolen Bill Pay Information were the top concerns in the 2020 report, Credit Score concerns came in at third place.

The Pandemic, Inflation and Payments

According to doxoINSIGHTs’ recent A Year of COVID-19 report, the pandemic drove new strategies to pay bills. In addition to consumers moving online to complete myriad household tasks, 52% paid more bills online due to the pandemic.

Credit card usage also increased during the pandemic, with 25% of respondents using them more often to pay bills than they had previously.

40% of bill payers delayed paying at least one household bill during the pandemic and, of those that delayed bill payments, the most common delayed bill was Utilities, with 68% of people delaying bills in the category.

In addition, a recent doxoINSIGHTS survey found that 89% of consumers said they had seen their household bills increase as a result of rising inflation rates.

How Americans Pay Their Bills in 2022

This report examines who the bill pay consumer is, and how and when they pay their household bills. When it comes to bill pay practices, the report shows, there is no normal.