Chris Ellis
Finance Manager
What was the challenge?
Martin Dawes rent out electronic equipment and receive weekly/monthly payments. One of their business challenges - unless a customer had a Direct Debit payment set up for their rental payments, it relied on customers making regular payments by cash or via phone. It meant that customer debt was incurred so staff and resource would be spent chasing the debt via phone calls and letters to customers owing a payment.
What was the solution?
Martin Dawes chose PayByLink, one of several digital payment methods available through PayPoint’s MultiPay omnichannel payments solution. PayByLink reminds the customer to make their payment via SMS, it is instant and contains a link to a secure payment page meaning it can be done within minutes of the SMS being delivered.
It also provides staff at Martin Dawes with the ability to issue SMS payment links to customers whilst on the phone with them to ensure payment rather than relying on the customer making a successful payment at a later date.
The results
Martin Dawes can now send SMS reminder messages to individual customers in arrears or those who have a payment due imminently. They can bulk upload the customer details into their internal CRM system to send SMS messages to multiple customers requesting payment instantly.
This solution results in time savings and reaching a wider customer base more quickly than traditional methods. They are also able to track in real-time which customers have clicked the link and made payment via PayPoint’s MultiPay client portal.
This has resulted in greater efficiencies, time and cost savings for Martin Dawes as less phone calls and costly letters are required to customers in arrears. It has also provided a better understanding of which customers are not paying – the portal shows whether the customer has viewed the payment page and if the payment is still outstanding.
Chris Ellis, Finance Manager at Martin Dawes said "We needed a solution to recover customer arrears and gain greater control over longstanding recurring arrears, choosing PayByLink was the natural fit for our business and helped us address this challenge".
He added "PayByLink also gives our customers greater flexibility and options around their payments – they can make a rental payment right there and then, in the palm of their hand, with minimal effort required."