How payment experience influences consumer choice and payment priority.
Every bill is competing for the same dollars. When consumers can’t pay everything, they choose, and the answer isn’t always who they owe the most. This report reveals what tips the decision.
36% of consumers have delayed a payment for one reason: the process was too complicated. The money was there. The willingness was there. The experience wasn’t.
INSIDE THE REPORT
What Decides Who Gets Paid First
- The friction threshold: the exact number of steps consumers will tolerate before they walk away (and how far past it most payment experiences already are)
- The speed advantage: the channel that moves consumers from reminder to paid on the same day
- The deciding factor: when two bills carry similar balances and due dates, one thing determines which gets paid first, and it’s entirely in your control
- The generational divide: who’s under the most financial pressure, and who’s most ready for a better experience
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ABOUT THE RESEARCH
A Q2 2026 survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers responsible for paying credit cards, loans, or mortgages. Conducted by Datos Insights and commissioned by SBT.
FAQs
What is The Competition for Consumer Payments report?
The Competition for Consumer Payments is a 2026 research report from Datos Insights, commissioned by SBT. It examines how the payment experience influences which bills and financial obligations consumers choose to pay, and when.
Who should read The Competition for Consumer Payments report?
Leaders in payments, collections, servicing, and customer experience at lenders, billers, utilities, and collections organizations, or anyone who needs consumers to complete a payment.
How was the research conducted?
Datos Insights surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older in Q2 2026. Every respondent is personally responsible for paying at least one credit card, auto loan, mortgage or HELOC, student loan, or personal loan. The sample is proportioned to the U.S. population by age, gender, income, geographic region, and race, and compares six generational segments. The results have a margin of error of ±2 points at 95% confidence.
