Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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utIlIty WEEK | 11th - 17th July 2014 | 25 Operations & Assets Over 51 per cent of adults in the UK now own a smartphone (OFCOM Communications Market Report, 2013) and, according to research by Deloitte, this figure increases to 85 per cent of those aged 16-24. Given changing consumer expectations, a significant breakthrough has been the development of mobile pay- ments, giving people a convenient alternative to using cash, cheques and cards. In this increasingly digital market, it is essential that utilities embrace technological advances to remain relevant; those that provide mobile-optimised payment solutions will benefit from the dif- ferentiation it affords them in the marketplace. In the utilities market, the use of mobile services is likely to grow exponentially over the coming years as more companies provide apps linked to control and monitor- ing of energy usage – particularly with the national rollout of smart meters scheduled to take place by 2020. One of the leading examples of mobile payment technology is the Barclays Pingit app, which is being used to capture payments by companies across the UK, and is currently used by Severn Trent Water. Barclays Pingit has been downloaded over three million times since launch in February 2012, and customers don't have to bank with Barclays to use it. It is easy to see how this type of mobile payment could easily be incorpo- rated within apps to manage and pay for energy consumption. Easy access to multiple payment channels, that are effortless to use, is an essential requirement for today's consumer. Severn Trent Water was looking at ways it could make it easier for custom- ers to manage their accounts and, recognising the changing trends in customer behaviour, the company chose to integrate mobile payments into its bill payment options. Severn Trent Water wanted to offer their non-Direct Debit custom- ers a quick and easy alternative way to pay, while also reducing the time between sending the bill and receiving the funds from the customer. It chose Barclays Pingit as the solution that could provide customers with a simple and secure way to pay – wherever and whenever they want. The company has added QR codes to the water bills of its 1.2 million non-Direct Debit customers, allowing them to use Barclays Pingit to scan the code using the in-app scanner and make a payment. In doing so, Severn Trent Water has become the first utility to offer its customers the option to pay their bills using Barclays Pingit – resulting in an innovative and convenient solution for their customer base. "In deploying Barclays Pingit, we are offering greater choice by introducing an innovative yet straightforward payment facility to our increasingly mobile customer base," said Rosa Legassick, Pro- gramme Manager, Severn Trent Water. For more information about how Barclays Pingit can support your mobile strategy, call us on: 0800 015 4242 or visit barclays corporate.com/pingitutilities EXPERt VIEW Martin Baker, Director, Utilities, Barclays Mobile payments + QR codes = better billing For customers that don't pay by Direct Debit, mobile payments offer a quick and easy alternative way to pay utility bills. and, as severn trent Water found, they can be seamlessly integrated with technologies such as Qr codes to make the process even easier. source: Barclays Plc. source: oFcoM communications Market report. 2013. all stats accurate as at: July 2014