· Company’s proactive and focused approach on e-payments results in 31.62% of total payment transactions through online modes ( approx. 30.56% of the total billing revenue generated)
· Total online transactions increased by more than 131% and revenue collected online increased by more than 370% in last 3 years since FY12-13
· Per month approx. 3 lakhs Tata Power-DDL consumers make payments using online mediums provided by the company and the count is increasing with each passing month
· Also exploring new payment systems like; Aadhaar Enabled Payment System through Micro ATM & Unified Payment Interface to provide a seamless digital payment experience to consumers
New Delhi, December 19, 2016 : Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL), a joint venture between Tata Power and the Government of NCT of Delhi which distributes electricity in North & North West parts of Delhi and serves a populace of 7 million has emerged as a leading utility in the country to promote cashless system of payment amongst its consumers and thus contributing towards cashless economy and Digital India.
The company’s focused approach on e-payments has resulted in an increase of more than131% in total online transactions and revenue collected online increased by more than 370%, in last 3 years, since FY 12-13. In the month of October 2016 itself, the company has received approx. 31.62% of total payment through online modes which forms approx. 30.56 % of the total revenue generated. Per month approx. 3 lakh Tata Power-DDL consumers are making payments using online mediums provided by the company and the count is increasing each passing month.
However, this transformation at Tata Power-DDL has not happened overnight and is actually a result of sustained efforts and focused planning, over the past 3 to 4 years, towards promoting efficiency and transparency through cashless transactions. To achieve the desired results, Tata Power-DDL started the process by revamping its bill payment system and procedures with a focus on cashless dealings and by slowly reducing the dependency on manual processes/cash transactions.
Envisaging the need and importance of cashless transactions, it first launched online bill payments through Credit / Debit cards, Net banking, Electronic Bill payment, ECS etc. and simultaneously worked towards increasing the volume of cashless transaction/online payments by tying up with the leading payment channels and gateways. Today, Tata Power-DDL bill payment can be made by using more than 20 Mobile Wallets/Applications like Paytm, Mobikwik, Freecharge, Airtel Money, Money on Mobile, Idea money, Pay U Money, Vodafone M-paisa etc.
Besides this, several other initiatives/schemes were rolled out from time to time like to promote online payments among consumer base like Pay n Win schemes, Convenience Fee/Commission waiver, Promotion on official website, E mailers, SMS updates, awareness camps and sessions at the RWAs, IWAs level including one- on-one interaction at payment collection centers. As a result, the online payments which was approx. 3% of total payment transaction, during the FY 2007-08 touched approx.10% in the FY 2012-13 and is 31.62% currently (in FY 2016-17).
Highlighting the company’s digitized payment strategy, Mr. Praveer, Sinha, CEO&MD, Tata Power-DDL, said, “ Tata Power-DDL has a remarkable journey of developing a cashless consumer friendly payment system in the Utility space. Today, with a sizeable percentage of payment received through online modes, we lead by example, and are ready to share our best practices with other utilities. The support will contribute towards their financial turnaround through speedier and efficient revenue collection.”
Some of the other proactive initiatives that have led to a surge in the cashless payment at Tata Power-DDL and which could be replicated by other utilities are : The Online Advance Payment Scheme on Tata Power-DDL’s website; launch of Tata Power-DDL mobile App named ‘TPDDL Connect’ through which consumers can make bill payment. Besides these, the initiatives like real time posting of all online transactions; SMS for ECS & Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) services; Acceptance of Payment after due date through all wallets/cash cards, Part payment facility, etc. have shown positive results.
“ The initiatives taken by us towards promotion of cashless system have tremendously enhanced the consumer convenience and confidence and made us more efficient and transparent. In the days to come, we will continue to contribute our bit towards strengthening the transition from a cash-driven economy to a cashless economy by focusing on mobile and advanced digital payments mediums.” Mr. Sinha further added.
In addition to the above, Tata Power-DDL consumer centric promotional schemes and offers like Pay online and win scheme, facilitation of energy installment bill payment through company’s website, introduction of payment through M- wallet where consumers can make the payment through SMS after registration, waiving off credit /debit card commission, instant payment confirmation receipt on Email Ids etc. drew more and more consumers towards the online payment mediums.
As on date, Tata Power-DDL is associated with more than 30 e-payment service providers for accepting their bill payments, including their agencies and also has more than 50 Collection Centers and Any Time Payment Machines (ATPMs) installed across its distribution network which can collect payment by physical swapping of credit or debit cards.
Tata Power-DDL is always keen on providing new technologies and platform available in market for e-payments. In view of this, Tata Power-DDL is exploring new payment systems like; Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) through Micro ATM, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) etc. and promises to provide a seamless digital payment experience to its consumers.