A development gaining momentum in Internet banking circles may soon change the way consumers pay their bills. This advancement is called bill presentment because the computer presents bills on screen for consumers to see, study and pay.

The consumer can view the bill, manipulate the data for budget planning purposes and authorize the bank to send payment to the biller.

Proponents have dubbed it the online banking "killer app", and alliances are in the making industry-wide.

"Electronic bill presentment is clearly the next step in online banking", said Patrick J. Swanick, vice chairman of KeyBank after the announcement that Wells Fargo and KeyBank would pilot the electronic bill presentment and payment service of e-commerce provider MSFDC. This followed the  announcement by Chase Manhattan Bank of plans to offer, through Checkfree Corp., electronic bill presentment to individual and commercial customers for free.

The key difference between electronic bill presentment and ordinary electronic bill payment is that the customer will view the bill on a computer screen by logging online with a bank. Full billing detail will be presented.

Customers will be alerted that a bill has been issued via e-mail. Existing electronic payment services do not include bill presentment, but provide only the total amount due. To see a breakdown of charges, consumers must wait for each bill to arrive separately by mail.

With bill presentment, customers can pay the bill immediately and the money is transferred automatically from the account.

In addition, since companies like Checkfree Corp., are rapidly forming alliances with numerous large billers, it will be possible for customers to manage virtually all of their bills in one location, such as their bank's web site.