When paying bills, consumers want speed and convenience. They are looking for payment solutions that allow them to use any type of payment, from cash to credit or debit, but they also want contactless payment options. Customers really don’t want to wait in line, have contact with an employee to pay a bill, and have do the same thing all over again next month! That is why a kiosk solution is ideal for utility companies, today more than ever.

Many kiosks don’t accept cash but cash is crucial for utilities since digital or card payments are not accessible to all customers. Deputy Director of Chicago’s Department of Finance spoke about accessibility to Chicago’s 18 kiosks. “Cash is still favored by the majority of people, comprising 47% of all kiosk payments. To not allow cash usage at a kiosk forgoes a large portion of the market.” Many cities understand this need to offer contactless cash payment options at bill payment kiosks. In Dodge City, Kansas, the city was looking to increase the accessibility and convenience of making payments on utility bills. Their solution was to install a kiosk, which accepts cash. City Public Information Officer Abbey Martin said, “It came about due to COVID-19 and wanting more options to pay utility bills in a contactless form”.

Not only do customers benefit from a bill payment kiosk, but companies do as well. The company ENSTAR, a natural gas service company, installed a QuotePro kiosk to save their customers time while still offering them the option of paying with cash. They later installed four outdoor kiosks which accept payments 24/7. Christina Veltkamp, Manager of Customer Service and Collections said “Summer is our busy season and we needed two full-time cashiers at our offices. Even so, we would often have lines. No one likes to wait in line to pay a bill.  We wanted a convenient and cost-effective solution that would improve our customer service and eliminate the lines.” As a result of the new kiosks, ENSTAR eliminated the need for two full-time cashiers and one team member had more time to allocate to other duties now that they weren’t handling payments. Read our ENSTAR case study to learn more.

If your business is looking for a custom-branded payment kiosk that accepts cash, credit and debit payments – and makes change to the penny, contact us: sales@quotepro.com or visit our website: https://quoteprosolutions.com/utilities/

By Chris Albu
Vice President, Sales
QuotePro