Five things you need to know about digital billing and payments

23 January 2024

Five things you need to know about digital billing and payments

Utilities know digital technology can help serve customers better and rebuild trust with the public. Our new report with PayPal explains the key role diversified payments can play in improving the customer experience.

Utilities know they need to serve customers better. They know they need to rebuild trust with the public. And they know digital technology can help.

Our new Utility Week Intelligence Research report with PayPal explains how diversifying payment strategy can be a really good way of improving the customer experience.

Pressed for time? Don’t worry, we’ve collected five of the key insights for you here:

Flawed digital strategies mean unhappy customers, which affects payment.

Utilities should focus on the user-friendliness of digital services. Not doing so can cause problems down the line, says Martin Ridley, a director at Charles Marcus Consulting. “Without establishing the right foundations for your digital strategy there will be major challenges in the longer term. Customers do not want to pay for things that they do not understand.”

Prepayment meters have had a bad press but pay as you go options are essential.

Andy Sage, head of proposition and partnerships at E.ON Next, says affordability of energy bills is no longer a niche concern. Prepayment meters provide an important means of controlling expenditure on energy. “A smart pay as you go offering for customers is so important. Anyone struggling to pay their bill or who just prefers to have that more immediate level of control can decide when, where and how their energy is used.”

Diverse payment strategies are good customer service.

Offering a range of payment types to customers is now a crucial part of providing a great experience. Northumbrian Water’s options for payment include not just Direct Debit but also credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Claire Sharp, customer director, Northumbrian Water, says: “The cost-of-living crisis has driven an increase in payment options, especially for customers who are struggling to pay.

“Our experience has shown having a trusted relationship with customers is key to ensuring regular payment promises are kept, and that many customers in debt prefer to use digital channels to keep in touch and transact.”

The pandemic accelerated digital customer service channels.

At Utilita, there was a sudden surge in usage of its app as lockdown hit. Once the crisis ended, the app remained a popular choice – and it’s also helping customers in difficulty. Russell Lane, head of customer experience at Utilita, explains: “For prepayment customers who have a smart meter, if they are within a certain criteria in terms of debt, the app will ping the meter.

“If the customer is struggling, we can make an intervention. We can suggest they make use of the financial assistance we can provide [through a feature called Power Up], and that money – almost like a loan – can be on their meter in a matter of minutes,” he says.

Offering a choice of payment methods is part of a more flexible future.

As utilities strive to improve their digital offering, they have the chance to support goals such as tackling climate change and water scarcity. That’s the view of Vincent Belloc, vice president and managing director at PayPal UK. “Decarbonisation and water scarcity mean utilities will be striving over the next decade and more to prompt behaviour changes and introduce new ways of charging which incentivise sustainability and protect resources.

“Offering a choice of payment methods which customers know and trust can support greater variety in tariff structure will stand utilities in good stead though this time.”

Want more insights like these? Read the report in full now here.