One in four households reported using the non-registered guest checkout option at biller sites for convenience and to avoid entering passwords.

More than eight in 10 households surveyed said real-time or same-day processing is important to very important, the survey found.

More than 27 million bill payers are more concerned about security than they were a year ago.

In terms of consumers' perceptions of the most secure ways to receive and pay bills, bank bill pay and biller direct options are almost tied at 32% and 33% respectively, followed by mail at 25%, email at 8% and nonbanking sites at 2%.

In addition, 57% of consumers said they view credit, debit or prepaid cards as the more secure options compared to ACH. 

Providing multiple bill payment options increased consumer satisfaction. What's more, the link between payment options and customer satisfaction strengthened significantly over the past 12 months.

Seven in 10 respondents said options for multiple ways to pay increased their satisfaction. This represents a 43% increase over the 2014 survey.

Paperless electronic bills are a top satisfaction driver with 66% of consumers who said receiving electronic bills increases their satisfaction with billers. Another 36% said the availability of paperless electronic bills makes them less likely to switch to a competitor, according to the survey.

Fiserv noted payment channel switching has become the norm for consumers, as the vast majority of bill pay households expect more options than ever.

Nearly 21 million households have changed how they pay bills from one month to the next, a 40% increase from last year.

American consumers also adjusted their payment approaches to suit their daily needs depending on where they are and what device they have access to at that moment, with the average consumer using 3.6 different payment methods each month – up from 2.9 a year ago. 

"Consumers expect all billers, regardless of size and industry, to offer a range of convenient, secure, high-quality billing and bill payment options at any time, any channel and any payment type," Lester said. "They increasingly make use of available options depending on their needs. Wherever and whenever transactions are now the norm and billers must keep pace to meet customer expectations and drive satisfaction or fall behind."

The Fiserv Consumer Billing Household Survey examined American households' billing and bill payment practices, preferences and attitudes.

The survey was completed by 3,001 consumers, representative of U.S. checking account holders 21 and older responsible for paying household bills. The survey's sample represented approximately 110 million households using the internet.