Bacs at the IRRV Conference 2010

Increase Direct Debit conversion by as much as 600%

The Harrogate International Centre (HIC) was the venue for this year’s IRRV Conference, we unveiled a line-up of initiatives to help continue your drive to increase Direct Debit take up.

Converting your bill payers to Direct Debit could equate to a saving of £10 per customer per year. At a time when local authorities are under pressure to deliver savings, the benefits of driving Direct Debit take up are clear. Direct Debit offers your council tax payers peace of mind knowing their council tax bill will always be paid on time.  What’s more, 79% of the UK adult population is now positively disposed to Direct Debit and there is no sign of the local authority sector reaching saturation point.

A key element of the conference for Bacs was the unveiling of the success we’ve had working with 20 London councils to improve their Direct Debit take up rates through a collective prize draw campaign. 

If you meet up with us on stand 15 at the IRRV Conference, we’ll share the details of, and learnings from, our London 'prize draw' campaign. The campaign was a resounding success, with Direct Debit take up rates driven up by as much as 600%.  We will show you how collective marketing could work for you, with ideas for a 2011 main billing campaign based on a persuasive new 'move from cheques to Direct Debit' theme.

During the conference, we shared the details of, and learnings from, our London 'prize draw' campaign. The campaign was a resounding success, with Direct Debit take up rates driven up by as much as 600%. We showed you how collective marketing could work for you, which included ideas for a 2011 main billing campaign based on a persuasive new 'move from cheques to Direct Debit' theme.

Other Bacs IRRV Conference 2010 highlights included:

• Insight into the banking industry’s plans to withdraw cheque clearing and how to maximise the opportunity to convert customers to Direct Debit before 2018
• Guidance on how best to implement the required changes to the Direct Debit Guarantee
• Guidance on the impending changes to the Direct Debit indemnity claim process
• Information on our Marketing Centre of Excellence resources, and how to use them to support your marketing effort
• How our training materials can improve the performance of your Direct Debit payment team

For more information on any of these topics please email Dawneth Perry, Market Sector Manager on d.perry@bacsservices.co.uk.