Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) is a digital process by which businesses send invoices or billing statements to customers’ email addresses or online accounts. This process allows customers to check and pay their bills in one secure place. Secure EBPP is a faster, more secure method than traditional billing.

In a 2024 survey, 79% of organizations reported being victims of attempted fraud activity, highlighting the need for secure billing and payment methods. Below, we’ll explain how businesses should handle secure electronic presentment for payment to refine their operations, maintain compliance, and provide the best possible customer experience.

What's in this article?

• What is EBPP and how does it work?
  
• Best practices for secure electronic presentment for payment
  
• How Stripe Payments can help
  

What is EBPP and how does it work?

Electronic bill presentment and payment is the digital process by which businesses generate, deliver, and collect payment on invoices or billing statements through online channels. At its core, EBPP replaces traditional paper-based invoicing by integrating two financial workflows into a single interface:

• Electronic presentment: Delivering digital statements and invoice details directly to the customer

• Electronic payment: Allowing the customer to review and settle the bill instantly using digital payment methods (e.g., credit cards, digital wallets)

By bridging the gap between invoice delivery and payment acceptance, EBPP can eliminate manual processing delays, reduce operational overhead, and speed up cash flow. Reflecting this shift away from paper invoicing, the global EBPP market was valued at about US$16.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach US$41.7 billion by 2035.

While EBPP is valuable for any business with a recurring billing model, it’s particularly important for industries that handle high invoice volumes or recurring subscriptions, including utilities, healthcare, financial services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and telecommunications.

How electronic bill presentment works

While individual software implementations vary, an end-to-end EBPP workflow follows five core steps:

• Bill generation: The business’s billing engine or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system automatically generates digital invoice data for the billing cycle, including line items, taxes, fees, and due dates.

• Digital delivery (presentment): The system delivers the bill to the customer via their preferred digital channel, whether that’s an automated email notification, a text message (SMS) alert with a payment link, or an updated balance within a customer portal or mobile app.

• Customer review: The customer accesses the secure interface to review invoice details, payment terms, and past billing history.

• Payment authorisation: The customer selects their preferred payment method and authorises the transaction directly within the EBPP interface.

• Confirmation and reconciliation: The payment gateway processes the funds, sends an immediate digital receipt to the customer, and automatically updates and reconciles the transaction in the business’s accounting system.

Best practices for secure electronic presentment for payment

Here are some best practices businesses should follow while using secure electronic presentment for payment, whether they use a biller-direct model or a consolidator model.
Data security and encryption

End-to-end encryption (E2EE)
E2EE protects sensitive financial information such as credit card numbers, bank details, and personal identifiers. It prevents hackers from intercepting and exploiting the information: even if hackers manage to breach the network, the information is unreadable to unauthorised parties.

Dynamic data encryption keys
Dynamic data encryption keys add another security layer. Unlike unchanging static keys, dynamic keys change frequently. This makes it harder for attackers to decipher the encrypted data. Even if a key is compromised, its limited lifespan minimises the potential damage.

Tokenisation of customer payment information
As soon as you receive payment data, replace it with a unique token that can be used for transactions but holds no value if stolen. This process minimises the exposure of sensitive information and reduces the risk of data breaches. Providing customers with tokenised access to view and pay bills also simplifies the payment process by making it easier for customers to manage their own bills without compromising on security.

Digital signatures
Digital signatures verify that electronic bills are authentic and haven’t been tampered with. A unique digital fingerprint is attached to each document with cryptographic techniques. And if any changes occur after the document is signed, the signature becomes invalid. That indicates potential tampering. This process can boost internal security and reassure customers that the documents they receive are genuine.

Access and authentication controls

Multifactor authentication (MFA)
MFA requires that users provide multiple pieces of evidence (e.g. password, one-time code, biometrics) to prove their identities. This makes it much harder for unauthorised individuals to gain access to sensitive payment information. Use MFA specifically customised for payment access by implementing even stricter rules such as stronger password requirements and more frequent authentication.

Restricted access to systems
Implement a principle of least privilege when you grant access to secure electronic presentment for payment systems. Employees should have access only to the data and functionality necessary for their specific roles. By restricting access to authorised personnel, you reduce the risk of accidental data exposure or misuse. Incorporating MFA can add security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of identification to access sensitive systems.

Secure APIs with strong authentication
When you integrate secure electronic presentment for payment systems with other applications or platforms, prioritise the use of secure application programming interfaces (APIs). These APIs should have strong authentication mechanisms such as OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect so only authorised entities can access and exchange sensitive financial data. By establishing a secure communication channel between systems, you decrease the risk of unauthorised access and data leakage.

Infrastructure and system security

Dedicated secure server

Isolating sensitive financial transactions from general network traffic minimises your attack surface and reduces the risk of unauthorised access. For infrastructure on premises, this means deploying dedicated secure servers protected by firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and routine vulnerability scanning. For cloud-hosted or SaaS-driven operations, businesses should enforce equivalent logical isolation.

Payment gateways with fraud detection algorithms
Payment providers with fraud detection algorithms analyse transaction patterns in real time and flag suspicious activities that could indicate fraud. Consider gateways with advanced features such as machine learning to continually improve detection capabilities, customisable risk settings to fit your specific needs, and comprehensive reporting tools to track and review flagged transactions. This proactive approach helps prevent fraudulent activities before they can impact your business and customers.

Automated backups
Regular, automated backups ensure that all electronic billing data, including customer information, payment records, and transaction history, is copied and stored securely. In the event of a system failure, data corruption, or cyberattack, backups enable quick, simple data recovery. This helps prevent data loss, minimise downtime, and ensure business continuity.

Cross-platform compatibility
Your secure EBPP system must be compatible with security measures across various platforms so security standards remain high no matter what device or operating system the customer uses. This requires implementing cross-platform encryption protocols, ensuring consistent MFA, and regularly updating the system to address new security threats. This cross-platform compatibility allows customers to securely access and manage their bills from desktops, smartphones, and other devices, without compromising security.

Monitoring, testing, and compliance

Quarterly security audits
Security audits involve a comprehensive review of security policies, procedures, and controls to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Quarterly audits, especially external ones, ensure that your security measures remain up-to-date and effective in the face of developing threats. Proactively addressing any identified issues can reduce the risk of data breaches and financial losses.

Penetration testing
Penetration testing involves simulating cyberattacks on your secure EBPP system to identify vulnerabilities. Focus this process on the electronic presentment process to uncover any potential weaknesses before attackers can exploit them. Test the delivery of bills, access controls, and payment processes and fortify any areas where security is weak.

Compliance with PCI DSS standards
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of comprehensive security requirements for handling, processing, and storing sensitive payment information. They require businesses to implement measures such as strong access controls, regular security testing, and maintenance of a secure network to protect cardholder data. Compliance ensures a high level of security for your business and reduces the risk of fines or other penalties for noncompliance.

Incident response and customer trust

Incident response plan for breaches
A well-prepared incident response plan minimises the impact of a breach and ensures a swift, effective response. Develop a customised plan that establishes specific procedures for identifying, containing, and remediating security incidents related to secure electronic presentment for payment. Define clear roles and responsibilities, establish communication channels, and outline steps for forensic analysis and data recovery.

Business email compromise
When you send electronic presentment notifications via email, use encrypted email services with E2EE. This ensures that unauthorised parties cannot intercept the emails’ content, which includes sensitive billing information. Consider using services with additional security features such as two-factor authentication and message expiration to further increase the security of your communications.

Customer communication
To build trust and confidence with customers, communicate clearly about the security measures you’ve incorporated for their electronic payments. Tell customers about the encryption methods, authentication processes, and other security protocols you use to protect their data. Clear communication reassures customers that their payment information is secure and that your business is compliant with privacy regulations.

Specific privacy policies
Regularly review and update your privacy policies to ensure they adequately address the specific privacy concerns associated with electronic presentment. Detail how you collect, store, and use customer data and outline procedures for data retention and disposal. Transparent, comprehensive privacy policies build trust with customers and demonstrate your commitment to protecting their information.

How Stripe Payments can help

Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payments solution that helps any business – from scaling startups to global enterprises – accept payments online, in person and around the world.

Stripe Payments can help you:

• Optimise your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods, and Link, a digital wallet built by Stripe.

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• Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalise interactions, reward loyalty and grow revenue.

• Improve payment performance: Increase revenue with a range of customisable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorisation rates.

• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.

Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments or get started today.