…postage rates are going up again! Yes, indeed, on July 14, the cost of a first-class letter will increase five cents from $.68 to $.73. The cost of a postcard will increase three cents from $.53 to $.56. This means […]
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Payments
Last week, a newsletter subscriber emailed me and inquired if I had written about offering incentives for customers signing up for bank drafts or paperless billing (ebilling). I have touched on it in the past, but I’ve not written a […]
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I recently completed a business review for a utility with considerable outstanding unpaid debt. When I asked if they were participating in the state’s debt setoff program, they were not. Let’s look at why that may be a mistake. What […]
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Hopefully, you know that bank drafts are far and away the easiest way to collect payments. If you’re not, the obvious question is, why? (Editorial note: even if you’re already accepting bank drafts, please don’t stop reading now. There will […]
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Wait for it… the US Postal Service is warning customers to not send checks through the mail! Not cash, which has always been a risk, but checks! I know it feels like I’m unfairly beating up on the Postal Service […]
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A recent post on one of the listservs I subscribe to asked about how other utilities deal with customers who pay online using an echeck to defer disconnection on cut-off day. In this case, a customer would enter the echeck […]
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A few issues back I explored the pros and cons of charging convenience fees. In that blog post, I mentioned the all-too-common argument in support of charging convenience fees – “It’s not fair for all of our customers to have […]
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Two recent newsletters recapped the results of the 2022 Utility Staffing Survey. One question I’ve asked in each of the four Utility Staffing Surveys, but never analyzed, is what percentage of payments are received by each of the following methods: […]
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Last week, in one of the listservs I follow, the question was posed if other utilities charge a convenience fee for credit card payments. I find this question asked frequently when I speak at utility conferences. Two points of view […]
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During the last couple of conferences I’ve spoken at, I’ve been surprised by how many utilities are still taking phone credit card payments in the office. There are at least three downsides to taking phone credit card payments in person […]
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