Fiserv Inc. said it added gamification features to its CheckFree RXP bill pay service now in use at more than 4,000 credit unions and banks.

The gamification principles are part of several new features added to the company's longtime flagship payment platform, which the core processing giant bought in 2007 in a transformative acquisition for $4.4 billion.

Read more about gamification at credit unions.

“The addition of three game-inspired elements – a progress bar, tutorial elements and a gradual introduction of more advanced capabilities – is designed to boost adoption and use of electronic bill payment among online banking users,” Fiserv said Thursday said in its announcement. “While the vast majority of U.S. households use online banking, only about 40% of online banking users also pay their bills at their bank or credit union's website, leaving substantial room for growth,” the announcement said, citing the initial set-up process as the biggest obstacle.

“Gamification has proven successful in getting and keeping consumers engaged in an electronic environment,” said Tom Allanson, division president, Electronic Payments, at Wisconsin-based Fiserv.

“Adapting these principles to financial services and incorporating them into electronic bill payment initiates an intuitive experience that makes the service more compelling to new users, and has significant potential to increase adoption and use of bill pay via online banking,” Allanson said in the company statement.