Kiosks to Combat Cuts

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Self-service offers council alternative payment channel to improve overall service.
 
Wincor Nixdorf, has announced it is working with public sector payments specialist, allpay, to provide innovative self-service payments to the London Borough of Merton.
 
 
This project represents the landmark deployment for the newly formed partnership between Wincor Nixdorf and allpay, the purpose of which is to offer enhanced self-service payment systems in order to improve processes and cost efficiency in the public sector.
 
In the face of significant public sector funding cuts, Merton Borough Council needed to reduce its customer service office opening hours. This resulted heavier queues and increased pressure on staff. To overcome this, the council decided to install a Card Payment and Information Kiosk into its Civic Centre.
 
Developers state that the kiosk technology can offer customers more choice and convenience for bill payments and the opportunity to source information automatically without the intervention of the council staff. It should also ease the pressure on council employees who will be able to concentrate on engaging with and offering advice to customers, rather than spending time on routine office tasks.
 
The council was particularly attracted to this technology because it is an information touch point. In addition to paying council bills, customers can also use the kiosk to access Merton Borough Council’s internet pages to search for more information about council activities. With less time spent delivering back office tasks, council staff are able to spend time with their customers to discuss how the council can better serve them. The idea is that the kiosks will allow for better lines of communication between the council and its customers while delivering a more available, secure and customer-friendly experience to users.
 
Sean Cunniffe of London Borough of Merton Council commented, “The reduction in opening hours has put increased pressure on our office staff who have been spending more time behind the counters trying to reduce queues. On a busy day, queues were becoming a big problem and we knew we needed to find a solution. We opted to install the Card Payment and Information Kiosk to address this. Initial reaction to the kiosk from our staff and customers has been very positive – payments are processed through the kiosk much faster than if they had been taken over the cash office counter, making life easier for everyone involved. Our staff will now be able to concentrate on other more consultative services and therefore the overall customer experience is vastly improved.”
 
Throughout the implementation process, the London Borough of Merton received regular support, ensuring a smooth transition to self-service for the customer and the employees. The council continues to have face-to-face meetings with allpay in which they feed back strengths and weaknesses.
 
Paul Fisher, Managing Director at Wincor Nixdorf, added: “We’re delighted to have completed our first implementation as an allpay technology partner. A key reason we partnered with allpay was that it provides a truly end-to-end service to public sector organisations which mirrors our own customers’ relationships. It’s no longer enough to provide a technology and walk away. In order to give clients the best service, it’s vital that the technology partner is there throughout – helping with implementation, suggesting ways to improve the offering and generally being a partner, and not just a vendor. We’re delighted to be working with allpay and are pleased to see the results already being enjoyed by Merton Borough Council.”
 
Deborah Guest, Sales Director at allpay, commented: “We are delighted that through our partnership with Wincor Nixdorf we have been able to deliver an innovative way to help Merton increase efficiency within their payment collection service. I am confident that through continuing to work together, we will help them to achieve even more benefits from our service.”