Biller direct payment adoption continues to grow while competition heats up among vendors of the multi-channel option, according to a new report from Aite Group.

The Boston-based think firm based its conclusion on interviews it conducted in late 2010 and early this year with a group of major payment presentation technology vendors.

Aite Group now estimates that nearly 26% of consumers will make payments at billers’ websites by 2013, which it says is directly proportional to a drop in payments by mail, which it predicts will account for 31% of bill payment volume by then, down from 33% it predicted for this year.

In addition to biller site and checks in the mail, consumers also are using mobile, phone, direct debit, financial institution website and in-person channels to pay their bills, and competition is intensifying, the report said.

Vendors studied in the report included Alacriti, Aliaswire, BillingTree, FIS, Fiserv, Online Resources and Tier Technologies, Aite Group said.