Electricity and gas provider Red Energy is the first major Australian utility to offer PayTo as a real-time bill payment solution, giving customers an instant payment option and Red Energy immediate transaction visibility.
A better payment experience – for customers and for Red Energy
To simplify bill payments and enhance the customer experience, Red Energy partnered with payment provider Zepto to implement PayTo for customer bill payments.
For customers, PayTo offers a convenient and secure way to pay. They simply authorise the Red Energy PayTo agreement in their banking app, enabling the bill to be paid instantly from their bank account.
For Red Energy, the near immediate visibility over payment outcomes that PayTo delivers has significantly reduced the time spent resolving payment queries with customers.
Previously, there was a delay between a customer making a payment and us seeing it in our systems. With PayTo we have visibility of the payment within seconds, allowing us to confirm the payment in real time—while the customer is still on the call.
Anthony Young, Retail Finance Controller, Red Energy
Cost savings that add up
Beyond improving the customer experience with the fast resolution of customer payment issues, PayTo has delivered operational benefits for Red Energy. Richer transaction data has simplified payment reconciliation and reduced manual processes – saving the company valuable time and resources in the process.
PayTo is also lowering payment transaction costs for Red Energy. By enabling payments directly from a customer’s bank account, Red Energy’s reliance on card networks and their associated acceptance fees is reduced.
Outcomes
Operational efficiencies
Richer transaction data streamlines reconciliation processes, and real-time payment visibility reduces call centre handling times.
Cost efficiencies
With lower payment transaction costs compared to typical card acceptance fees, savings are anticipated to increase over time as customer adoption of PayTo continues to grow.
Better customer experiences
PayTo offers a convenient, secure payment option for customers to pay bills instantly from their bank account and reduce the need for payment related queries.
More benefits to come
Red Energy’s initial roll-out of PayTo focused on one-off payments and refunds, allowing it to test the solution and ensure a smooth roll-out and long-term success.
“Integration takes time, so the earlier you begin, the better,” says Young. “For us, it was a six to eight-month journey from planning to go-live, but the results have made it well worth the effort.”
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