Leading payment specialist allpay, has revealed the results of its annual survey designed to provide an insight into current payment methods for house-hold bills. Findings point to reduced confidence in paying regular bills, an ongoing reliance on cash payments and the need for flexibility of payment dates for rent collection to help tenants.
Luke Jones, Market Intelligence Executive, allpay confirms: “Earlier this year, we surveyed more than 2000 people across the UK. From the sample almost 300 people were social renters (292) with housing provided via their local housing association or council. We found that fewer social renters are now confident in paying their regular bills: 64.7% in 2019 compared with 65.1% in 2018. A possible factor for consideration may be that many social renters are faced with the ongoing roll out of Universal Credit payments which has disrupted their paying schedules and available expenditure and budgeting.
“An important finding was the continued reliance on cash payments,” continues Jones. “Some councils are looking at phasing-out cash. However, the statistics reveal an ongoing reliance on cash and the need to consider financial inclusion carefully, with 11.07% of social renters preferring to pay rent by cash and 11.1% paying for their Council tax with cash. The statistics actually demonstrate an increase in those preferring to use cash for rental payments compared with last year’s survey (10.49%). The most popular payment type for rent remains as Direct Debit (35.97%) with a similar proportion (34.39%) preferring to pay by Debit Card while cash is third. Respondents cited “Ease of Use, Security and Trust” as the most common reason when choosing their payment method.
Jones continues: “Social renters’ preferred payment frequency for regular house-hold bills is monthly, 57.8% in 2019, with the highest proportion of favoured monthly payments being for Internet and Phone services followed by Council Tax. However, the variation between respondents also points to the need to employ flexibility on payment frequencies for social renters. This year, the majority preferred to pay rent on a weekly basis (22.1%) with 9.9% on a fortnightly basis and 7.6% four-weekly.
“Collecting automated rental payments on any working day of the month does offer the opportunity for Housing Associations to improve the flexibility of rent collection for the benefit of residents. Collecting rental payments much closer to pay day, or the day Universal Credit is paid for example, can help service users with budgeting and means people are far less likely to fall into arrears and therefore their right to remain in their own homes is protected.”
Jones concludes: “Overall, the findings point to the need to maintain flexibility on payment methods and frequencies to ensure financial inclusion and security to support social renters who are becoming increasingly ‘less confident’ in being able to pay their regular house-hold bills.”
For further information please visit: www.allpay.net
