Online Resources Corp. will be offering its direct billing customers, including utilities and financial services, a new bill payment and small-dollar loan service that consumers can use as a payment option.

The Chantilly, Va., company will use the services of BillFloat Inc. of San Francisco, which partners with a nationwide network of registered lenders to offer the loans through BillFloat’s bill payment and underwriting technology.

The proceeds of the loans are applied to bills owed to BillFloat’s clients and partners, currently at 3% per month, a rate based on the FDIC’s Small-Dollar Loan Template and much lower than that available from alternative sources of short-term loans, the companies said.

Online Resources said it will use the service to extend its own biller-direct presentation, payment and receivables solutions and help consumers avoid late fees, overdraft charges and more expensive loans.

“Helping billers manage risk and improve the percentage of on-time customer bill payments is central to our business,” said Robert Craig, executive vice president of e-commerce services for Online Resources.

Ryan Gilbert, CEO of BillFloat, said, “By joining forces with Online Resources we will energize a market sector that has been impacted by the recession and starved of innovation for an extended period of time.”