Paymentus Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PAY) and PYMNTS Intelligence have released the Service Commerce Performance Gap Report study measuring differences between what consumers expect from billing and payment experiences and what service providers believe they deliver. The revealed gap lies not only in frustrated expectations. It has material tag on it too. The report finds that up to $330 billion in annual service bill revenue is at risk due to payment delays tied to billing dissatisfaction.
The study surveyed 2,566 U.S. bill-paying consumers and 240 senior billing executives across four categories: insurance, loans and finance, utilities, and healthcare. Surveys were conducted in March and April 2026. PYMNTS Intelligence compiled the results and reported findings in September 2026. Those should be of particular interest for service providers, since survey results suggest they do not fully understand the extent to which billing experience matters for end customers.
The report introduces the Service Commerce Performance Index (SCPI), a composite score built from three equally weighted pillars: Journey Performance, Friction Frequency, and Relationship Quality. The overall SCPI score across industries is 65 out of 100. Property and home insurance scored highest at 68, followed by healthcare and medical at 67, automobile loans at 66, and electricity and gas at 65.
Relationship Quality, which measures whether the billing experience builds trust and loyalty, is the weakest of the three pillars in every industry studied. It averages a weighted 62. But general results are also not too far away from that point. Across 28 dimension-by-industry combinations measured in the report, none reached a grade of B or higher. Payment execution was the only dimension to earn a C or better across all industries, while categories such as electricity and gas, and healthcare and medical, scored the equivalent of a D on six of seven lifecycle dimensions.
The disconnect extends to how providers and consumers assess the same problems. On core billing capabilities, only between 5% and 6% of service providers rate themselves below ideal, while consumers report shortfalls at two to three times that rate.
Between 83% and 97% of providers estimate that each of six measured friction types affects 12% or fewer of their customers. Consumers describe a different experience: roughly one-third report trouble understanding a bill, feeling unsure whether a payment went through, or encountering processing delays.
The two friction points consumers cite most often are needing to contact support to fix a problem (40%) and having limited control over payment timing (40%). Paradoxically enough, these exact factors are among the least tracked by providers.
Fewer than 5% of service providers identified billing and payments as a major driver of customer loyalty, compared with 58% of consumers who said the billing experience shapes their overall judgment of service quality.
“Consumers’ monthly bill pay experiences are often their most regular and repeated service provider touch point,” said Dushyant Sharma, Founder and CEO of Paymentus. “It is a critical moment where reputation, quality, and customer loyalty are on the line.”
The report also found that an estimated 62 million U.S. adults have delayed a payment due to dissatisfaction. Furthermore, 67 million have postponed a payment while a dispute was unresolved. Generational differences are also to mind. The younger consumers are known for their intolerance to any discomfort and it shows in their responses.
Gen Z consumers rated every industry 12 to 16 points lower than baby boomers. Over half of Gen Zs (54%) described the payment experience as frustrating. This age category makes up roughly 40% of all global consumers and accounts for over 25% of the total world population. If service providers ignore their needs, they risk losing fair share of profits.
“In a world in which commerce moves seamlessly and customers feel personally connected to the brands they value and trust, providers of essential services are falling behind. While many service providers tell us they are investing in the basic mechanics of bill delivery and payment enablement, our data suggests that systems that provide more intelligent, intuitive, and connected experiences are key to building lifetime customer loyalty and value,” stressed Karen Webster, CEO of PYMNTS Intelligence.
Even if providers realize the scale of their billing issues, many face obstacles to improve that. Seventy percent of providers cited legacy systems as a barrier that prevents them from making the billing process better. Then followed competing priorities (61%), data limitations (60%), and budget constraints (53%).
