Severn Trent Water has become the first utility to offer their non-Direct Debit customers the option to pay their bills using mobile payments via Barclays Pingit.

Serving more than 4.2 million households and businesses, the innovation is further recognition of the fact that customer behaviour is changing when it comes to making payments. Easy access to multiple payment channels that are effortless to use is an essential requirement for today's consumer.

Severn Trent undertook a project to expand their ‘on the go’ services for customers, including the launch of a new mobile website. This would allow their customers to access vital services, such as viewing their bill, making a payment or reporting a leak, as well as information on reservoir locations across the Midlands and Wales.

As part of the development, the company also wanted to find ways to provide their customers with even more payment options through new and innovative mobile solutions. They wanted to target their non-Direct Debit customers in particular, to provide them with an immediate and easy way to pay, while also reducing the time between sending the bill and receiving the funds from the customer.

The ‘pay a bill’ functionality of Barclays Pingit was recognised as a solution which could provide Severn Trent’s customers with a simple and secure way to pay – wherever and whenever they want.

Targeting their 1.2 million non-Direct Debit customers, Severn Trent has added QR codes to all water bills allowing their customers to use Barclays Pingit to scan the code using the in-app scanner and make a payment.

Offering this alternative way to pay allows their customers to pay their bills on the go, and also increases efficiencies for Severn Trent: Barclays Pingit mobile payments are often received within minutes from a smartphone or tablet – making it much cheaper and more efficient to process than cash, cheques and some other types of payments, and all reference information is pre-populated within the app.

The company is now looking at other ways they can make it easier for their customers to manage their accounts.