Tulsa firm expands its services

You've probably done it. Lots of people have, waiting until the last minute to pay a bill. Lucky for us, there are companies out there where you can make a quick payment. Lucky for Tulsa, one of

Friday, October 7th 2005, 10:51 am

By: News On 6

You've probably done it. Lots of people have, waiting until the last minute to pay a bill. Lucky for us, there are companies out there where you can make a quick payment. Lucky for Tulsa, one of the biggest ones is located right here.

News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says the call center is buzzing at Tulsa-based ChoicePay. And many of the calls are people making late payments. ChoicePay CEO Roger Marshall says he's even done it himself. "Oh sure, I think there's times when everybody forgets to make a payment, things slip up on them and they need to make a payment quickly.â€

The market for electronic bill payment, as its known, is booming. And a big reason is what they call "panic paymentsâ€. â€œTheyâ€™re not our only customer, but they're the ones who appreciate us most."

ChoicePay allows customers to make payments over the phone, over the Internet, and at kiosks. Not many companies have kiosks. You might have seen the one at City Hall. A new version rolls out next month.

Greg Adelson with ChoicePay: "The technology in the payments industry changes really daily."

Roger Marshall: "We're one of the few companies that offers all the channels as far as electronic bill payment goes." Lots of companies let you make payments over the phone through an automated system; ChoicePay is one of the few that has actual customer service representatives to talk directly to the customer.

Many of the big clients like gas companies and electric companies have already been snapped up, but Marshall says the market for electronic bill payment is still wide open. Roger Marshall: â€œOh, there's huge opportunities here. If you think about it, there are insurance companies, banks, there's a whole raft of people who still don't offer phone/internet payment options.â€

And there are profits in procrastination.