Thames Water partners with Paylink Solutions

By Gloria Methri

Thames Water, one of the UK’s largest water and wastewater companies, has formed a long-term partnership with FinTech Paylink Solutions. Paylink’s Embark application will allow Thames Water’s customers to provide a breakdown of their circumstances so it can set up a sustainable payment plan based on their affordability.

Customers will be able to use open banking and request a payment proposal for managing their water bills. Thames Water will also be able to apply its eligibility criteria for support packages such as its social tariff, WaterHelp, from the data received.

By utilising Paylink’s automated benefits identification, which is integrated into Embark, customers can see their benefits entitlement. They can also seek specialist support available through Embark’s integration with free debt advice provider PayPlan.

Customers can access PayPlan’s support through a variety of channels, including Live Chat or via a callback. With consent, PayPlan advisors will be able to see the income and expenditure – information provided to Thames Water – and review a customer’s financial circumstances in real-time.

Nina White, Director of Financial Customer Care at Thames Water said, “We are always looking for ways to improve our customer service and we are pleased to be working with Paylink to create a journey for customers that allows us to understand their needs and access our wide range of support, as smoothly as possible. This is really important to us at this time as the cost of living continues to rise and we need to make it as easy as possible for our customers to engage with us.”

Andrew Alder, Director of Development and Partnerships at Paylink Solutions added, “We are delighted to be working with Thames Water who have made a significant investment in supporting their staff and customers – as the cost of living and number of customers struggling financially increases, this couldn’t have been done at a better time.”