Study Shows the Environmental Benefits of Using E-Payments

The PayItGreen(TM) Alliance is asking consumers to turn off paper bills and statements and make payments electronically. The Alliance, comprised of leaders in the financial and consumer billing industries, was formed in 2007 to educate consumers about the positive environmental impact of choosing electronic bills, statements and payments over paper alternatives. The Alliance has named April as PayItGreen Month to launch this initiative.

    According to a new study commissioned by the Alliance, if one in
five households switched to electronic bills, statements and payments,
the collective impact would annually save 151 million pounds of paper,
avoid filling 8.6 million household garbage bags with waste and avoid
producing 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

    "Turning off the paper and managing your finances electronically
may seem like a small action, but it can have a big environmental
impact," said Stuart Williams, director, payment services, CheckFree,
now part of Fiserv, and co-chair of the Alliance. "If 20 percent of
households switched to electronic bills, statements and payments, we
would save enough gasoline annually to drive from New York to Los
Angeles and back 918 times and preserve more than 12,000 acres of land
from deforestation."

    According to the study, the average household receives
approximately 19 bills and statements and makes approximately 7 paper
payments per month. Collectively, the production and transportation of
those paper bills, statements and payments consume 755 million pounds
of paper, 9 million trees and 512 million gallons of gasoline.

    Consumers can calculate their individual financial paper
footprints at the Alliance's new interactive web site,
www.payitgreen.org.

    "PayItGreen is a simple, safe and smart way to have a positive
impact on the environment," said Craig Vaream, managing director,
Domestic ACH and Global Check Deposits, JPMorgan Chase and co-chair of
the Alliance. "Not only will increasing the use of electronic bills,
statements and payments reduce environmental waste, it saves consumers
time, protects them against identity theft and saves money."

    Earlier studies have shown the benefits of electronic payments to
consumers including the following:

    --  People who pay bills online do so in 15 minutes a month,
        whereas those who write out checks take two hours. (CheckFree,
        now part of Fiserv, 2007)

    --  The majority of identity theft starts with someone seeing
        personal information on a paper check, billing statement or
        bank account statement. (Javelin Strategy & Research, 2006)

    --  With an average of 20 bills and financial statements each
        month, a single household can spend up to $100 on postage each
        year and another $50 per year on the cost of checks, late
        charges and fuel. (NACHA 2008)

    "The environmental impact of a PayItGreen household is
long-lasting and is easy to set up," said Williams. "To get started,
consumers just need to Assess, Ask and Act."

    Consumers can log on to www.payitgreen.org for advice on how to:

    --  Assess what bills, statements and payments they currently have
        that use paper;

    --  Ask their employers, financial institution and the companies
        that send them bills how to manage the bills and accounts
        electronically, and receive and make payments electronically;

    --  Act on their decisions by setting a specific deadline to turn
        off the paper and create a PayItGreen household.

    The new study was conducted by Project Performance Corporation for
the PayItGreen Alliance. The study metrics represent the impact at the
individual household level, as well as the impacts that would be
achieved if 2, 5, 10 and 20 percent of American households switch to
paperless transactions. The full study is available to the media upon
request.