Background
E.ON Next, part of the E.ON group, are committed to using more renewable electricity sources.
At a time when consumers are struggling with increases in the cost-of-living, E.ON Next entered into a partnership with fintech Paylink Solutions (PS) to provide more tailored support to its vulnerable customers by using its digital engagement platform Embark.
In the brief period that E.ON Next has been using Embark, more than 23,000 customers have successfully completed an income and expenditure with over 84% of those customers going on to make a digital payment proposal by accessing Embark’s payment proposal module.
Overcoming current challenges
Previously, income and expenditure forms would be sent in by E.ON Next’s customers from multiple different sources, which made responding consistently whilst always aiming to provide fair solutions, much harder than it needed to be.
The introduction of Embark means affordability assessments can now be carried out in an optimal manner to improve both agent performance and customer outcomes for E.ON Next.
Embark is being used as a referral platform for E.ON Next, whose customers can now maximise their income through its benefits integration and inform E.ON Next of exactly how much they have available to pay for their energy use.
Its enabled E.ON Next to build bespoke support packages for their customers to ensure they can keep paying their bills, but at a level that is suitable for them, while allowing customers a ‘grace period’ of payments so they can support them in the immediate future.
Results and successes
Through Embark, customers are able to step through a dedicated portal with an identified outcome that is used by E.ON Next. Customers are then able to opt into open banking and make a monthly payment to be considered.
We quickly identified that E.ON Next needed an open banking journey for customers struggling financially to help make the experience more accurate, more personal and aligned with its purpose of making customers happier and more confident about money.
Embark not only allows E.ON Next to take appropriate action and set up affordable payment plans, but to also send tailored communications and take appropriate forbearance outcomes for those customers with specific needs. This insight has allowed E.ON Next to automate internal processes and feed the information into their Kraken powered customer service platform, including reporting suites by accessing Embarks B2B API’s, which allows them to understand customer needs and trends.
To help customers complete accurate budgets that are a true reflection of their circumstances, there is now the option to provide their creditor information using Credit Reference Agency integration, which further reduces pressure on the customer as it means they don’t have to spend time trying to locate or remember information. It also ensures the budget is as accurate as possible.
