The wee nation of Estonia is set to switch to online bill processing at the state level to cut costs. The switch will only apply to accounts payable by the state to begin with, but the government plans to run pilot projects on accounts receivable as well.

"The e-billing environment will make state accountancy more transparent and will also improve the work of state accountants, freeing them from the need to type all the data from bills into the system," said Jurgen Ligi, finance minister. The finance and justice administrations will make the switch by March 1, with the rest of the administration to follow by the end of the year.

"Estonian state institutions get around 520,000 bills annually and the e-system will help them make the handling of these bills 30 times cheaper," said Sigrid Laev, finance ministry spokesperson. "The cost of handling a paper bill is around 13 euros, while in the e-billing system it will cost only 40 cents," she added. She also said the government would consider a complete switch to e-billing as it becomes more common.

When will e-billing become more widespread? A recent study suggests that eBills will become more widely used than traditional paper bills by 2016. The NACHA's Council for Electronic Billing and Payment along with PayItGreen said that 5.1 billion eBills were delivered in 2010 alone. The study showed that nine out of 10 of the companies surveyed viewed eBill adoption as a significant opportunity for their organizations.

Estonia already has a reputation as one of the world's most cyber-focused nations. When five decades of Soviet rule ended in 1991, the nation of 1.3 million began to focus on technology, earning the nickname "E-stonia."

Estonian citizens can access virtually all public services through a special Internet portal, including e-voting in national and local elections as well as checking medical and police records. Official data reveals that 92 percent of taxpayers filed their 2009 annual income tax returns through the Internet, while 79 percent do their banking online at least once per week.