Late on your cable bill? Operators can now alert subscribers who are past due -- and let them settle up using their remote controls -- via an interactive TV app from billing-systems vendor CSG Systems International and software developer FourthWall Media.
The Bill Pay on TV app, which is based on CableLabs' Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format spec, will let subscribers view and pay their cable bill using on-screen menus. Viewers can see their current cable bill and make payments after setting up an account with a passcode and credit card.
The app also lets cable operators send targeted messages to specific subscribers, regardless of which channel the set-top is tuned to, to provide directions on how to make a payment using the cable remote or remind them they've missed a payment.
Bill Pay on TV can cut costs and reduce late payments "while making it easy for consumers to transact business on their terms," CSG executive director of product strategy Chad Dunavant said in a statement.
Customers of Englewood, Colo.-based CSG include Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications and Dish Network.
FourthWall also recently announced a partnership with PayPal, to allow operators and programmers add a click-to-pay solution to EBIF applications.
