{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"156459","rtpr_id":"nPn4RFlqSa-20260930","ticker":"SOLD","exchange":"BSE India","all_tickers":["SOLD"],"title":"New SBT Research with Datos Insights Finds Two-Thirds of Consumers Expect to Pay a Bill in Three Steps or Fewer","author":"PR Newswire","published_at":"2026-09-30T11:00:00.738Z","article_body":"New SBT Research with Datos Insights Finds Two-Thirds of Consumers Expect to Pay a Bill in Three Steps or Fewer\nPR Newswire\n\nDALLAS, Sept. 30, 2026\n\nThe study finds that consumers act faster on text, favor simpler payment\nexperiences when obligations are similar, and abandon payment journeys that\nare too complex.\n\nDALLAS, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixty-seven percent of U.S. consumers\nexpect to go from a payment reminder to a completed payment in three steps or\nfewer, according to The Competition for Consumer Payments, new research from\nDatos Insights sponsored by SBT. When the process demands more, payments\nstall: 36% of consumers have delayed a payment because it was too complicated.\n\nThe survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers shows how quickly that friction compounds.\nNearly half (45%) of complexity-driven delays became missed deadlines, and\nseven in ten consumers (71%) within that segment have missed a payment more\nthan once for the same reason. The intent to pay was there. The process lost\nit.\n\n\"Consumers are telling us exactly where their patience runs out: three steps,\"\nsaid David Baxter, Chief Executive Officer of SBT. \"Most payment journeys ask\nfor far more than that, and every extra website, login, or account lookup is a\nchance for a willing payer to walk away.\"\n\nKey Findings\n\n * Payment is a competition. Forty-one percent of consumers experienced financial\nhardship in the past year. When they cannot pay every bill, they prioritize,\nand creditors compete for their place in line.\n * Friction hits younger consumers hardest. Sixty-two percent of Gen Z and 56% of\nyounger millennials have delayed a payment because the process was too\ncomplicated, the same groups reporting the highest rates of hardship and\ncollections debt.\n * Every handoff costs payments. One in four consumers (25.5%) has delayed a\npayment because they had to switch to a different app to pay.\n * Text moves consumers to pay faster. Text drives more same-day payments than\nemail for six of seven obligation types, including student loans (43% vs.\n23%), auto loans (41% vs. 25%), and credit cards (34% vs. 24%).\n * The reminder can become the payment. Forty-seven percent of consumers would be\nmore likely to pay immediately if payment were embedded in the reminder\nitself.\n * Ease wins the tiebreaker. Given two otherwise identical bills, consumers are\ntwice as likely to pay the creditor that lets them pay by replying to a text\n(53%) as the one requiring a website login (26%).\n\"Consumers who delay a payment because the process is too complicated are not\nunwilling to pay. The process stopped them,\" said David Albertazzi, Executive\nAdvisor for Retail Banking and Payments at Datos Insights. \"Consumers are\nwilling to pay, but they're less willing to jump through unnecessary hoops to\ndo it. Step count, login failures, and channel handoffs are conversion\nmetrics, and organizations should measure them the way e-commerce teams\nmeasure checkout abandonment.\"\n\n\"Financial institutions have historically competed for customers on products,\npricing, and terms,\" Baxter said. \"But when consumers are managing multiple\nobligations, the payment experience influences which bill gets paid first. If\nthe path to payment is complex, a creditor risks losing priority to one that\nmakes it simpler to act.\"\n\nThe full Datos Insights report, The Competition for Consumer Payments: How\nPayment Experience Influences Consumer Choice and Payment Priority, is\navailable here\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4785756-1&h=1942519544&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsolutionsbytext.com%2Fresources%2Fcompetition-for-consumer-payments%2F&a=here)\n.\n\nAbout the Research\n\nDatos Insights surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers online in Q2 2026, each\nresponsible for paying at least one credit card, auto loan, mortgage or HELOC,\nstudent loan, or personal loan. The sample is proportioned to the U.S.\npopulation, with a margin of error of ±2 percentage points at 95% confidence.\nThe research was sponsored by SBT.\n\nAbout SBT\n\nSBT helps businesses in regulated industries turn consumer intent into\ncompleted action. Its FinText® platform unifies messaging, embedded payments,\ncompliance governance, and performance intelligence into a single experience\ndesigned for high-stakes interactions. The result is faster payments, stronger\nself-service performance, and consumer journeys that stay inside a governed\nworkflow from first contact to final confirmation. Founded in 2008, SBT serves\nlenders, servicers, collections organizations, and other businesses where\nengagement and revenue realization depend on trusted, compliant\ncommunication. Learn more at solutionsbytext.com\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4785756-1&h=3684894695&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsolutionsbytext.com%2F&a=solutionsbytext.com)\n. Follow SBT on LinkedIn\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4785756-1&h=2962579496&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fsolutionsbytext&a=LinkedIn)\n.\n\nMedia Contact\nDavid Resnic, The Harris Agency, david@theharris.agency\n(mailto:david@theharris.agency)\n\nView original content to download\nmultimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-sbt-research-with-datos-insights-finds-two-thirds-of-consumers-expect-to-pay-a-bill-in-three-steps-or-fewer-302893467.html\n(https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-sbt-research-with-datos-insights-finds-two-thirds-of-consumers-expect-to-pay-a-bill-in-three-steps-or-fewer-302893467.html)\n\nSOURCE SBT\n\n\n\nPhoto: \nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1998954/SBT-Report-Cover.jpg?id=OA2977733\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1200973/solutions-by-text-Logo-01.jpg?id=OA2977853\n\nCopyright (c) 2026 PR Newswire Association,LLC. All Rights Reserved.","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nPn4RFlqSa-20260930","title":"New SBT Research with Datos Insights Finds Two-Thirds of Consumers Expect to Pay a Bill in Three Steps or Fewer","author":"PR Newswire","ticker":"SOLD","created":"2026-09-30T11:00:00.738Z","tickers":["SOLD"],"exchange":"BSE India","article_body":"New SBT Research with Datos Insights Finds Two-Thirds of Consumers Expect to Pay a Bill in Three Steps or Fewer\nPR Newswire\n\nDALLAS, Sept. 30, 2026\n\nThe study finds that consumers act faster on text, favor simpler payment\nexperiences when obligations are similar, and abandon payment journeys that\nare too complex.\n\nDALLAS, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixty-seven percent of U.S. consumers\nexpect to go from a payment reminder to a completed payment in three steps or\nfewer, according to The Competition for Consumer Payments, new research from\nDatos Insights sponsored by SBT. When the process demands more, payments\nstall: 36% of consumers have delayed a payment because it was too complicated.\n\nThe survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers shows how quickly that friction compounds.\nNearly half (45%) of complexity-driven delays became missed deadlines, and\nseven in ten consumers (71%) within that segment have missed a payment more\nthan once for the same reason. The intent to pay was there. The process lost\nit.\n\n\"Consumers are telling us exactly where their patience runs out: three steps,\"\nsaid David Baxter, Chief Executive Officer of SBT. \"Most payment journeys ask\nfor far more than that, and every extra website, login, or account lookup is a\nchance for a willing payer to walk away.\"\n\nKey Findings\n\n * Payment is a competition. Forty-one percent of consumers experienced financial\nhardship in the past year. When they cannot pay every bill, they prioritize,\nand creditors compete for their place in line.\n * Friction hits younger consumers hardest. Sixty-two percent of Gen Z and 56% of\nyounger millennials have delayed a payment because the process was too\ncomplicated, the same groups reporting the highest rates of hardship and\ncollections debt.\n * Every handoff costs payments. One in four consumers (25.5%) has delayed a\npayment because they had to switch to a different app to pay.\n * Text moves consumers to pay faster. Text drives more same-day payments than\nemail for six of seven obligation types, including student loans (43% vs.\n23%), auto loans (41% vs. 25%), and credit cards (34% vs. 24%).\n * The reminder can become the payment. Forty-seven percent of consumers would be\nmore likely to pay immediately if payment were embedded in the reminder\nitself.\n * Ease wins the tiebreaker. Given two otherwise identical bills, consumers are\ntwice as likely to pay the creditor that lets them pay by replying to a text\n(53%) as the one requiring a website login (26%).\n\"Consumers who delay a payment because the process is too complicated are not\nunwilling to pay. The process stopped them,\" said David Albertazzi, Executive\nAdvisor for Retail Banking and Payments at Datos Insights. \"Consumers are\nwilling to pay, but they're less willing to jump through unnecessary hoops to\ndo it. Step count, login failures, and channel handoffs are conversion\nmetrics, and organizations should measure them the way e-commerce teams\nmeasure checkout abandonment.\"\n\n\"Financial institutions have historically competed for customers on products,\npricing, and terms,\" Baxter said. \"But when consumers are managing multiple\nobligations, the payment experience influences which bill gets paid first. If\nthe path to payment is complex, a creditor risks losing priority to one that\nmakes it simpler to act.\"\n\nThe full Datos Insights report, The Competition for Consumer Payments: How\nPayment Experience Influences Consumer Choice and Payment Priority, is\navailable here\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4785756-1&h=1942519544&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsolutionsbytext.com%2Fresources%2Fcompetition-for-consumer-payments%2F&a=here)\n.\n\nAbout the Research\n\nDatos Insights surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers online in Q2 2026, each\nresponsible for paying at least one credit card, auto loan, mortgage or HELOC,\nstudent loan, or personal loan. The sample is proportioned to the U.S.\npopulation, with a margin of error of ±2 percentage points at 95% confidence.\nThe research was sponsored by SBT.\n\nAbout SBT\n\nSBT helps businesses in regulated industries turn consumer intent into\ncompleted action. Its FinText® platform unifies messaging, embedded payments,\ncompliance governance, and performance intelligence into a single experience\ndesigned for high-stakes interactions. The result is faster payments, stronger\nself-service performance, and consumer journeys that stay inside a governed\nworkflow from first contact to final confirmation. Founded in 2008, SBT serves\nlenders, servicers, collections organizations, and other businesses where\nengagement and revenue realization depend on trusted, compliant\ncommunication. Learn more at solutionsbytext.com\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4785756-1&h=3684894695&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsolutionsbytext.com%2F&a=solutionsbytext.com)\n. Follow SBT on LinkedIn\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4785756-1&h=2962579496&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fsolutionsbytext&a=LinkedIn)\n.\n\nMedia Contact\nDavid Resnic, The Harris Agency, david@theharris.agency\n(mailto:david@theharris.agency)\n\nView original content to download\nmultimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-sbt-research-with-datos-insights-finds-two-thirds-of-consumers-expect-to-pay-a-bill-in-three-steps-or-fewer-302893467.html\n(https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-sbt-research-with-datos-insights-finds-two-thirds-of-consumers-expect-to-pay-a-bill-in-three-steps-or-fewer-302893467.html)\n\nSOURCE SBT\n\n\n\nPhoto: \nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1998954/SBT-Report-Cover.jpg?id=OA2977733\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1200973/solutions-by-text-Logo-01.jpg?id=OA2977853\n\nCopyright (c) 2026 PR Newswire Association,LLC. All Rights Reserved."},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-09-30T11:00:01.729619751Z","server_sent_at_ms":1790766001729},"received_at":"2026-09-30T11:00:01.782Z","source_url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-sbt-research-with-datos-insights-finds-two-thirds-of-consumers-expect-to-pay-a-bill-in-three-steps-or-fewer-302893467.html"},"analysis":{"id":"145146","press_release_id":"156459","analysis_json":{"industry":null,"redFlags":[],"eventType":"other","narrative":"SBT and Datos Insights published new survey research, The Competition for Consumer Payments, finding that 67% of U.S. consumers expect to complete a bill payment in three steps or fewer.\n\nThe survey of 2,000 consumers found 36% have delayed a payment because it was too complicated, and 45% of those delays became missed deadlines; text messages drove faster same-day payments than email across six of seven obligation types.\n\nThe release is promotional research sponsored by SBT to support its FinText messaging-and-payments platform, with no new financial or corporate disclosures from the company.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Sponsored consumer-payments research promoting SBT's FinText platform -- marketing content, not a material corporate disclosure."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"margin_of_error":"±2 percentage points at 95% confidence","survey_respondents":2000,"pay_via_text_reply_vs_login":"53% vs 26%","delayed_payment_due_to_complexity":"36%","consumers_expecting_three_steps_or_fewer":"67%","complexity_delays_becoming_missed_deadlines":"45%","same_day_payments_student_loans_text_vs_email":"43% vs 23%"}},"quotedText":"Consumers are telling us exactly where their patience runs out: three steps","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"David Baxter","role":"CEO of SBT"},{"name":"David Albertazzi","role":"Executive Advisor for Retail Banking and Payments at Datos Insights"},{"name":"David Resnic","role":"Media contact, The Harris Agency"}],"products":["FinText"],"companies":[{"name":"SBT","relationship":"filer / research sponsor"},{"name":"Datos Insights","relationship":"research partner"},{"name":"The Harris Agency","relationship":"media relations agency"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":1,"reasoning":"This is a sponsored market-research press release promoting SBT's FinText platform; it contains no financial results, transactions, or regulatory events affecting the filer."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"SOLD"},"globalImportance":8,"audienceRelevance":10,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"private-or-micro-cap","eventGravity":"sponsored-marketing-research","issuerAuthored":true,"financialDisclosure":false}},"event_type":"other","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"neutral","material_impact_score":1,"narrative":"SBT and Datos Insights published new survey research, The Competition for Consumer Payments, finding that 67% of U.S. consumers expect to complete a bill payment in three steps or fewer.\n\nThe survey of 2,000 consumers found 36% have delayed a payment because it was too complicated, and 45% of those delays became missed deadlines; text messages drove faster same-day payments than email across six of seven obligation types.\n\nThe release is promotional research sponsored by SBT to support its FinText messaging-and-payments platform, with no new financial or corporate disclosures from the company.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"margin_of_error":"±2 percentage points at 95% confidence","survey_respondents":2000,"pay_via_text_reply_vs_login":"53% vs 26%","delayed_payment_due_to_complexity":"36%","consumers_expecting_three_steps_or_fewer":"67%","complexity_delays_becoming_missed_deadlines":"45%","same_day_payments_student_loans_text_vs_email":"43% vs 23%"}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"David Baxter","role":"CEO of SBT"},{"name":"David Albertazzi","role":"Executive Advisor for Retail Banking and Payments at Datos Insights"},{"name":"David Resnic","role":"Media contact, The Harris Agency"}],"products":["FinText"],"companies":[{"name":"SBT","relationship":"filer / research sponsor"},{"name":"Datos Insights","relationship":"research partner"},{"name":"The Harris Agency","relationship":"media relations agency"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flashx","prompt_hash":"sha256:727b4b9429a443af","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-09-30T11:00:12.914Z","global_importance":8,"audience_relevance":10,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"private-or-micro-cap","eventGravity":"sponsored-marketing-research","issuerAuthored":true,"financialDisclosure":false}},"durationMs":5739,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flashx"}}