According to the Pew Research Center, more than 96% of Americans own a cellphone, and of that number, more than 80% of them own a smartphone. If we were to calculate tablets into this equation, the number would only grow.
What this means for utilities is that more than 4/5 of the population are now able to pay their bill from anywhere in the world. The question is: Do utilities offer this option to their customers? And, if so, do their customers even know it is an option?
When customers have access to mobile payment options, a few big things happen:
– Utilities receive fewer inbound calls, reducing costs
– Customers can pay 24/7 in a convenient, efficient way
– Utilities improve their collection efforts and do so more efficiently
The adoption of mobile payments is a trend that has grown exponentially in the last five years, keeping pace with the adoption generally of digital technologies. Customers today expect to engage with their utilities in ways that meet them in the digital world.
The next generation of utility customers have never lived in a world without mobile. For them, mobile payment options are simply a basic service requirement.
What’s more is that utility customers aren’t simply asking for mobile payment options alone, they are asking to be able to do everything else from their mobile devices. Customers want to be able to:
– See payment history
– Check bills
– Changes account settings and preferences
– Track their usage
– Receive alerts & updates
– Switch between accounts
– Get up to the minute information
– Prepay or pay-as-you-go options
This means that utilities, now more than ever before, are looking for all-in-one solutions that deliver results and give their customers what they want, need, expect, and demand in the mobile age. This is why so many utilities have chosen MyMeter®.
MyMeter® is the tool utility companies need now to address the demands of consumers in this day and age—giving consumers the ability engage with their utility in the modern age and truly understand energy and water use. With MyMeter®, they can pay and prepay 24/7 from anywhere in the world, and get access to all the other features they’ve come to expect in the digital age.
