US consumers want more flexible bill payment options

ACI Worldwide has published research showing that many US consumers want more flexibility in how they pay household bills, with financial pressure shaping those choices.

The ninth ACI Speedpay Pulse Report found that 30.4% of bill payers want the option to pause payments during hardship, while 57.7% said they would use flexible due dates if offered. More than three in five respondents said control over when bills are paid is very or extremely important.

The study is based on surveys of at least 3,000 US adults responsible for at least two monthly household bills. Each sample is balanced to reflect the US Census and carries a margin of error below 1.8% for questions answered by the full sample.

The data suggests household finances remain under strain across age groups. According to the report, 59% of US adults do not have enough savings to cover a USD $1,000 emergency expense. Among younger consumers, 48% of Gen Z and 46% of Millennials reported less than USD $1,000 in emergency savings, while 40% of Gen X said they could not cover a USD $1,000 emergency from their bank account.

That pressure appears to be shaping how consumers pay routine bills. In 2025, 52.7% of consumers used debit cards to pay bills, putting them 11.4 percentage points ahead of credit cards. Among Gen Z, debit card use reached 74.7%, making it the dominant payment method for that group.

More consumers are also combining debit with automation. The report found that 55.4% now use a mix of one-time and automatic recurring payments, up from 44.5% in 2019. Paying bills one by one has fallen over the same period, dropping from 43.4% to 30.3%.

Mobile payment habits have shifted as well. In 2025, 40% of consumers reported paying a bill through a mobile wallet, up from 17% in 2019. Gen Z recorded the highest use of biller mobile apps at 52.5% and the highest mobile wallet adoption at 22.4%.

AI and trust

The research found that consumer views on artificial intelligence are becoming less neutral. Neutral or unsure sentiment fell from 36.8% to 32.2% in a year, the biggest single-year movement in ACI's AI sentiment data, with both positive and negative views increasing.

Even so, respondents drew a clear line when billing problems arise. While 53.4% said they had used an AI billing or support tool, 89.1% still want a live person once something goes wrong with a bill. That figure has risen every year since 2021.

The preference for human support extended to younger users as well. Among Gen Z, described in the study as the most AI-positive generation, chatbots and social support each accounted for less than 1% of preferred ways to resolve a billing issue.

Ron Shultz, General Manager of ACI Speedpay, said the findings show how payment behaviour is being shaped by financial strain rather than convenience alone.

"When a $1,000 expense can derail household finances, bill payment goes beyond a transaction to become a vital part of how people navigate financial pressures," Shultz said. "Consumers want control over when and how they pay, because for many households, missing a payment has become a real financial risk. When billers provide greater flexibility and predictability in bill payment, they are empowering consumers with better financial autonomy."

Fraud checks

The report also points to more active monitoring of personal credit and identity risk. A total of 44.7% of consumers had frozen their credit with at least one bureau, up from 38% a year earlier. One in four respondents now checks a credit report more than once a month, compared with 14% the year before.

Other payment methods remained on the margins. Cryptocurrency accounted for 1.7% of bill payments in the report, far behind cards, recurring payments and mobile wallet options.

Utilities, lenders, telecom groups and other large billers investing in digital payment systems will likely watch the findings as they work to reduce missed payments and service costs. The research suggests consumers place greater value on predictable due dates, reminders, payment timing and hardship options than on faster checkout alone.

For payment providers, the results also show a more selective approach to automation. Consumers appear willing to use AI and recurring digital tools for routine tasks, but remain cautious when errors, disputes or financial stress are involved.