KCP&L grows electronic payment channels with strategic approach

By Noah Solomon, Senior Research Analyst –

It seems each year, especially at the holidays, we hear about continued growth in online shopping versus physical retail. The U.S. Department of Commerce found each quarter in 2018 saw a 14-16% increase in ecommerce from the previous year. Amazon is poised to boast 122 million subscribers to its premium service, Amazon Prime, by 2022.

Many companies have been forced to close their doors for failing to adapt to the changing business landscape: customers increasingly want to handle transactions online. Utilities, to their credit, have insurance, internet/cable, banks/credit card and cell phone companies in 2018 in the percentage of their customer base which pay their bills primarily through electronic channels. Nearly half of utility customers pay via some form of electronic payment, but with almost the same percentage of customers paying their bills primarily through the mail or a phone call, there is certainly room for expansion of ePay, bringing operational savings from reducing mail and call volume.

KCP&L has been accepting electronic payments since the launch of its website in 1998. Through continuous enhancements and an engagement-focused approach, the utility has launched a variety of electronic payment channels designed with the customer in mind, increasing the utility’s customer adoption rate for electronic payments to 70%, well above the industry average. To learn more about KCP&L’s efforts, make sure to register for Chartwell’s webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Attend this webinar to learn how KCP&L’s strategic approach to electronic payment channel growth has led to cost savings and customer experience improvements.