Utilita launches multi-channel payment solution

Independent energy supplier Utilita has launched a multi-channel payment solution for its smart meter customers which will allow them to pay bills using smart devices as well as cash payments.

The solution, in partnership with PayPoint, allows payment by cash at a PayPoint shop or by credit and debit card using their mobile phone, tablet or PC.

Utilita’s founder and managing director Bill Bullen pointed out that the company’s aim is to offer customers the “best possible payment experience” using whatever method is most convenient for them “at any time and place they want to pay”.

“PayPoint’s unique multi-channel solution is integral to meeting that challenge and will help us to achieve our ambitious growth targets,” he continued.

Utilita customers have been able to pay for their energy in PayPoint shops for many years already. The company’s online payment page is responsive across multiple devices and a mobile app will be launched later in the year to further enhance payment choice and convenience.

PayPoint client director Lewis Alcraft said: “Consumers no longer want to be restricted to a single payment channel, which is why PayPoint is developing innovative solutions for energy suppliers and other consumer service organisations to manage their relationships with their customers.”

Last month, fellow independent energy supplier Ovo Energy launched its own smart pay-as-you-go energy platform and app for prepayment customers, allowing them to top up and monitor their energy usage anywhere via an app, text, online or at a local PayPoint outlet.

Last May, energy secretary Ed Davey urged energy suppliers to ensure all pre-payment meter customers have a smart meter installed, and offered a smart pay as you go tariff, by the end of 2016.

In November last year, research from Smart Energy GB showed that, even at the beginning of the six-year smart meter rollout, almost half (48 per cent) of people would like to use smart meter energy in pay-as-you-go mode.