allpay’s partnership with Payzone facilitates over 5 million cash transactions in the last six months
allpay and Payzone are passionate about giving cash users easy and accessible platforms to achieve their financial obligations.
It’s been six months since allpay Limited partnered up with Payzone, a consumer payments acceptance network based in the UK. This partnership has enabled allpay customers to benefit from additional coverage across the country, with over 24,000 stores and branches now offering cash collection.
Research conducted by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in conjunction with the FCA, found that access to cash is still extremely important to a large number of consumers within the UK and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Over 8 million adults in the UK (17% of the population) depend on cash to make payments every day, according to interim findings published in December.
The partnership with Payzone evolved when allpay discovered in an annual consumer survey that cash continues to be the preferred method of payment by a significant number of payees, representing an average of 11% for each bill payment. They realised that in order to uphold their commitment to financial inclusion, they needed to provide more cash payment options in what is rapidly becoming a cashless society.
A cashless society could significantly impact people from different social backgrounds all over the country. People based in rural areas who are often affected by poor broadband and/or mobile signal regularly struggle to pay for things digitally, so frequently have to revert to cash payments. Many of the older generation are sceptical about online and digital payments for fear of becoming victims of fraud, so they choose cash payments for peace of mind. Furthermore, there are around 1.3 million people in the UK who simply do not have a bank account, many of them are on low incomes and rely on cash to make their everyday payments.
allpay are passionate about offering a reputable and accessible platform for customers and retailers to use cash as a payment option, to help those that still rely on it. The joint venture has proven to be successful, with over 7 million transactions occurring in the last six months, and over 5 million of these being cash totalling a value of over £600 million. As the demand for cash payments remains high, it is becoming increasingly important for companies like Payzone and allpay to work together to provide sufficient payment opportunities.
“During these particularly challenging times, being able to make free, easy transactions is extremely important,” says Michelle Pacey, Managing Director at allpay. “Our systems provide convenience and choice for people paying bills and greater efficiency for any organisation collecting payments."
Payzone’s experience in the bill payment sector, and range of existing relationships with large retailers such as Tesco Express, Nisa and Londis, enables them to provide a vast amount of cash collection points at convenient locations, supporting those in need.
“The rising cost of living, and the increase in demand for private rent in the United Kingdom continues to cause issues for families, individuals and vulnerable people across the county,” says Simon Lambert, Commercial Director at Payzone. “The partnership between Payzone and allpay has made payments easier for those people who rely on cash collection points to fulfil their financial obligations.”
allpay already offered cash collection via Post Office and PayPoint networks, however by teaming up with Payzone, their cash offering has now reached 99% of residents in urban areas and 95% of residents in rural areas, with over 30,000 contactless terminals available in the UK. The additional services have also attracted more customers to stores and subsequently increased revenue for retailers.
As market leaders of payment services within the UK public and social housing sector, allpay are committed to financial inclusion. With many of their customers still choosing cash over card when conducting bill payments, having free access to cash collection points is vital in order to achieve this.
About allpay
allpay is the market leader of bill payment, prepaid and card payment solutions, delivering innovative and value-added services. With over 25 years’ experience, allpay has the capacity and resources to manage all payment flows, utilising the most cost-effective technology available. Our aim is to work with each of our 980 public and private sector clients to optimise and secure incoming and outgoing payments to reduce costs and increase efficiency resulting in us processing over £8.5bn of payment transactions per year for some 4.5m+ end customers.
For more information please visit: www.allpay.net
About Payzone
Payzone has provided bill payment services to independent retailers, multiples and symbol groups across the UK for over 30 years. Payzone is now part of the Post Office network, and since joining with them, has grown its network to over 24,000 stores and branches across the UK. With over 500 million bill payment transactions made annually, these additional services attract more customers to stores, increasing revenue for retailers.
For more information please visit: https://www.payzone.co.uk/