First Financial is first to get bill pay mobile app

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HUNTSVILLE - Patrons of First Financial banks are now able to pay bills simply by taking a picture.

The smartphone application First Financial Bankshares Mobile Banking is the first of its kind in the nation that allows users to snap a picture of their bill statement with a feature called Picture Pay.

Robert Pate, CEO of First Financial Bank of Huntsville, said the new feature is the next step in convenience.

"You take a picture of you bill…verify the bill amount and send it," Pate said. "It's done. You don't have to go home and do anything else."

Gary Webb, First Financial Bankshares executive vice president of operations, said the product is designed for a customer who expects convenience with more advanced technology.

"As we see more of our customers bypassing traditional banking channels in favor of the mobile channel, mobile payment capabilities become increasingly important," said Gary Webb, executive vice president of operations of the First Financial Bankshares. "Our customers expect intuitive and quick transaction capabilities through our smartphone banking solution, and traditional bill pay can require upwards of 10 steps to complete."

The feature allows users to skip manually entering amounts, biller information and payment information.

Pate said the company received more than 12,000 bill pay uploads between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31.

Picture Pay also allows customers to expedite bills.

"Say you have a bill that's due tomorrow," Pate said, "you can expedite it for a fee like any other system. But with this application you can do it from your phone from anywhere."

The application uses Mobile Photo Bill Pay technology produced by Mitek, a San Antonio company specializing in mobile photo applications.

"In today's fast-paced world, we work and play from anywhere, making smartphones the devices of choice for those always on the go," James DeBello, Mitek CEO, said. "More and more, we're managing much of our lives through our smartphones, and Mitek has created a breakthrough way to pay bills anywhere, anytime."

Picture Pay was rolled out with an upgrade on the parent application and is free to iPhone and Android phone users.

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