Knowledge Centre - Case Study

Environment Agency Saves £120,000 a year with Direct Debit expert™

Direct Debit offers greater efficiency

The Environment Agency is a public body responsible for protecting and improving the environment. It issues licences for commercial waste operations and grants fishing licences to 1.5 million anglers across the UK. In 2000, commercial businesses or individuals could only buy environmental licences by cheque. However, like other public bodies, the Environment Agency was under increasing pressure from central government to become more customer-oriented. In addition, the organisation wanted to process its payments more efficiently. It found processing cheques and cash resource intensive and these payments made it difficult to manage cash flow. As a result, the agency decided to extend its range of payments to include Direct Debit.

Maximising the benefits of the Direct Debit scheme

The Environment Agency recognised that it could maximise the benefits of the Direct Debit scheme by automating collections. However, the agency needed a system that could cope with the variety of its payments. The organisation issues a small number of high-value commercial licences, but it also collects many low-value payments. Jonathan Evans, Income Manager at the Environment Agency, says: "We needed a flexible tool that could satisfy two very different sets of payment requirements." The agency's project team evaluated a number of products, but Direct Debit expert™ (DDe™) from global payments specialists Direct Debit Limited proved the best match for its detailed list of requirements. Most importantly, Direct Debit expert could integrate with the agency's systems, support more than 100,000 annual payments and manage Direct Debit processes from end-to-end. Direct Debit Limited implemented DDe™ and tailored the system to meet agency's needs.

Improves customer service

The Environment Agency is now equipped to provide a better quality service to its customers because it processes payments more efficiently with fewer manual steps. Using DDe™, the agency can tailor payment plans to users' needs. Evans says: "DDe™ is central to our ability to deliver superior customer service. It allows us to respond flexibly when commercial licensees face problems with payments." For example, the environment agency can now schedule Direct Debit payments on a quarterly basis where necessary.

Reduces administrative costs

Since introducing DDe™, the Environment Agency has dramatically improved the efficiency of its collections. Direct Debit is an established and cost-effective payment method for the organisation, which now processes more than 100,000 Direct Debit transactions annually. In the agency's first year using DDe™, it saved £120,000 on administration and postage costs alone. Evans says: "DDe™ gives us a comprehensive and cost-effective payments tool, backed by flexible and responsive support staff."

Integrates seamlessly with existing systems

Direct Debit Limited integrated DDe™ with the Environment Agency's processes and systems and customised the software to meet some niche requirements for the agency. Consequently, the system is easy to use, which has been beneficial for staff at the environment agency. Evans says: "We are very pleased with the purchase of DDe™ — it has proved very easy to administer and use. The solution provides us with comprehensive reporting and analysis by income type."