BillingTree ARM Industry Survey Reveals Adoption Of Online Portals Top Technology Trend For 2017

• Fifth annual BillingTree Operations and Technology Survey of trends and plans for payment technology adoption
• Compliance remains biggest concern for majority of respondents
• 10% increase in HSA/FSA payment acceptance

BillingTree, the leading payment technology provider, released the key findings of its ARM Industry Survey Report today - the first of four in the '2017 Operations and Technology Survey' series. The results, from over 200 agencies of all sizes, show technology adoption continues to be a key priority - with collection agencies highlighting the revenue opportunities provided by online portals, interactive voice response (IVR) and virtual debt negotiation.

For the first time in the five-year history of the survey, online portals surpassed live agents as the most popular payment channel, with card payments and ACH payments ranking as the most accepted methods. When asked about technology plans for 2017, adoption of online portals ranked first at 32%, closely followed by IVR at 28% and virtual debt negotiation at 23%.

The results once again confirmed the biggest challenge faced by most ARM firms is compliance. The importance of PCI compliance outranked concerns around CFPB enforcement and Regulation-E. Unsurprisingly it followed that the importance of choosing a PCI compliant payment processing partner remained the top priority for the second year running.

Client expansion was the primary focus of respondents. Interestingly, the number of agencies accepting HSA/FSA payments has significantly increased from 33% in 2016 to 43% in 2017. Through accepting HSA/FSA payments as an authorized third party to healthcare providers, agencies can facilitate payments for both past, due and current medical debts incurred by patients.

However, the number of respondents planning on adopting a convenience fee model has dropped, with 44% of ARM organizations having no plans to implement fees in 2017.

"Having collected ARM Industry data for five consecutive years, we continue to see significant technology adoption changes within collections," said Dave Yohe, VP of Marketing at BillingTree. "As payments and technology continue to evolve, these results, combined with the remainder of the survey series later this year, will provide collection agencies, healthcare providers, credit unions and property management companies with unrivaled insight to help them prepare for technology opportunities while remaining compliant."

To request a complimentary copy of the 2017 ARM Industry Operations, Technology & Payments report visit:https://start.mybillingtree.com/acton/media/15831/2017-arm-survey-report

About BillingTree
BillingTree is the leading provider of integrated payments solutions to the healthcare, ARM and financial services industry verticals. Through its technology-enabled suite of products and services, BillingTree enables organizations to increase efficiency and decrease the costs of payment processing while adhering to compliance regulations. Leveraging more than a decade of market experience, BillingTree is dedicated to growing payments with technology through an integrated omni-channel offering, suite of proprietary products and value-added services, and a Company-wide focus on delivering extraordinary customer service.