<s>
Electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
or	O
electronic	O
bill	O
payment	O
and	O
presentment	O
,	O
is	O
when	O
a	O
seller	O
such	O
as	O
company	O
,	O
organization	O
,	O
or	O
group	O
sends	O
its	O
bills	O
or	O
invoices	O
over	O
the	O
internet	O
,	O
and	O
customers	O
pay	O
the	O
bills	O
electronically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advantages	O
to	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
include	O
the	O
faster	O
presentation	O
of	O
invoices	O
and	O
reductions	O
in	O
costs	O
compared	O
to	O
handling	O
paper	O
documents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
to	O
take	O
full	O
advantage	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
both	O
seller	O
and	O
buyer	O
need	O
to	O
have	O
in	O
place	O
computer	O
systems	O
able	O
to	O
handle	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
and	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
financial	O
institutions	O
that	O
can	O
do	O
electronic	O
payments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
and	O
payments	O
started	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
20th	O
century	O
,	O
and	O
whilst	O
its	O
exact	O
origins	O
are	O
unclear	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
generally	O
agreed	O
that	O
development	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
coincided	O
with	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
the	O
Information	O
Age	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
went	O
hand-in-hand	O
with	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
internet	B-Application
banking	I-Application
,	O
introduction	O
of	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
and	O
widespread	O
use	O
of	O
email	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
the	O
Council	O
for	O
Electronic	B-Application
Billing	I-Application
and	O
Payment	O
of	O
the	O
National	O
Automated	O
Clearing	O
House	O
Association	O
(	O
NACHA	O
)	O
is	O
credited	O
with	O
broadly	O
promoting	O
and	O
communicating	O
various	O
forms	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
in	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Certain	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
applications	O
also	O
provide	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
electronically	O
settle	O
payment	O
for	O
goods	O
or	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
market	O
has	O
emerged	O
for	O
outsourced	O
billing	O
providers	O
who	O
specialize	O
in	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
processes	O
and	O
technology	O
for	O
companies	O
that	O
need	O
to	O
send	O
bills	O
directly	O
to	O
their	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bank-aggregator	O
–	O
where	O
a	O
payment	O
is	O
made	O
at	O
an	O
aggregator	O
or	O
consolidator	O
site	O
,	O
usually	O
from	O
a	O
consumer	O
's	O
bank	B-Application
's	I-Application
website	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
are	O
OneVu	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
and	O
eBill	B-Application
in	O
Switzerland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
developed	O
countries	O
existing	O
legacy	O
banking	O
systems	O
and	O
rules	O
has	O
slowed	O
down	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
billing	I-Application
.	O
</s>
