Welwyn Garden City, 20 April 2015: PayPoint and leading independent energy supplier Utilita have launched PayPoint’s new integrated, multi-channel payment solution for their smart meter customers.
The new solution gives Utilita customers an improved customer experience when paying for their energy. Utilita’s online payment page (https://www.utilitapayments.com/Top-Up) is responsive across multiple devices and a mobile app will be launched later in the year to further enhance payment choice and convenience. Utilita customers have been able to pay in PayPoint shops for many years already.
As an international leader in payment technologies PayPoint is uniquely able to provide a single, integrated solution across multiple payment channels. This gives customers complete flexibility to choose to pay using whichever method is most convenient for them at the time – in cash at any of the 28,000 convenience stores in PayPoint’s retail network or by credit and debit card using their mobile phone, tablet or PC.
Utilita was one of the first energy suppliers to model itself on the needs of prepayment customers and focuses on maintaining competitive tariffs and developing user-friendly ways to pay as you go. At the beginning of 2014, the launch of Utilita’s Secure Handset smart metering technology gave customers greater control over their energy usage by allowing them to monitor consumption and adapt their habits accordingly to save even more money.
Bill Bullen, founder and Managing Director of Utilita Energy, said: “Utilita’s customer base is growing rapidly and our aim is to offer our customers the best possible payment experience, using whatever method is the 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.”
Independent research from Smart Energy GB, published in November 2014, revealed that almost half the Great Britain population would like to use smart meter energy in pay-as-you-go mode to buy their gas and electricity, three times the number of people currently using prepayment meters.
Lewis Alcraft, Client Director at PayPoint, added: “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. The payments landscape is evolving rapidly and PayPoint is uniquely placed to provide multi-channel payments as consumers demand more choice and convenience. PayPoint is delighted that Utilita is the first energy partner for our new platform and we look forward to working with Utilita and other energy companies as we introduce a full range of new services for smart metering during 2015.”
ENDS
Enquiries:
Peter Brooker
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01707 600356 / 07900 418960
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About PayPoint
PayPoint is an international leader in payment technologies, its solutions transforming payments for everyone from consumer and financial services companies to retailers, utilities, media, e-commerce, gaming and government clients.
PayPoint delivers payments and services by taking the complexity of multi-channel payments and translating it into convenient, simple, value-added solutions. It handles almost £15 billion from 800 million transactions annually for more than 6,000 clients and merchants.
With the backing of 24/7 operations centres with dual site processing, PayPoint is widely recognised for its leadership in payment systems, smart technology and service.
Retail networks
The PayPoint retail network across the UK numbers over 28,200 local shops (including Co-op, Spar, McColls, Costcutter, Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Express, One Stop, Asda, Londis and thousands of independents), where it processes energy meter pre-payments, bill payments, benefit payments, mobile phone top-ups, transport tickets, BBC TV licences, cash withdrawals and a range of other transactions. In Romania, the retail network numbers over 9,000 terminals in local shops, helping people to make cash bill payments, money transfers, road tax payments and mobile phone top-ups. In the Republic of Ireland, over 500 terminals in shops and credit unions process mobile top-ups and bill payments.
Collect+, a joint venture with Yodel, provides a parcel drop-off and pick-up service at more than 5,800 PayPoint retailers. PayPoint’s ATM network numbers more than 3,900 ‘LINK’ branded machines across the UK, and 9,700 PayPoint terminals enable retailers to accept credit and debit cards.
Mobile and Online
PayPoint Mobile and Online (formerly trading as PayPoint.net, PayByPhone and Adaptis) handles over 142 million payments for parking, payments and consumer services. In major cities in the UK, Canada, USA, France, Switzerland and Australia, its parking solutions make it easy for people to pay for parking by mobile, as well as providing electronic parking permits, automatic number plate recognition systems for car parks and penalty charge notices.
PayPoint’s core online payments platform is linked to 16 major acquiring banks in the UK, Europe and North America, delivering secure credit and debit card payments for almost 4,800 online merchants. Its suite of products ranges from transaction gateway to a bureau service, in addition to value-added services such as FraudGuard, an advanced service that mitigates the risk of fraud in card not present transactions.