In this discussion with Ben Williams from JOYnt, Ben discusses the evolution of consumer payments, focusing on some of the limitations of traditional direct debit, the role of open banking, and the growing need for flexible, consumer-led payment experiences.
The conversation explores how payment behaviour data can improve affordability insight, reduce fail payments, and deliver better outcomes for both consumers and businesses.
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Key Take Aways
- Consumer payment expectations have shifted towards greater control, visibility and flexibility, driven by digitisation and changing income patterns.
- Direct debit volumes continue to grow and remain effective for many consumers, but were designed around predictable, salaried income.
- An increasing proportion of consumers now manage multiple income streams, creating misalignment between income timing and bill due dates.
- Open banking introduces new possibilities for aligning payments more closely to actual income flows.
- Variable recurring payments offer additional flexibility, but are not a universal solution.
- Choice across payment methods is increasingly important, rather than reliance on a single dominant mechanism.
- Fragmented bill-payment journeys across multiple providers create friction and stress for consumers.
- A unified, repeatable payment experience can improve consumer confidence and completion rates.
- Payment behaviour data provides deeper insight than binary “paid / unpaid” indicators.
- Changes in payment timing can act as early indicators of financial stress or vulnerability.
- Fail payments are significantly higher outside direct debit, creating operational and cost challenges.
- Consumer-led design is critical to achieving adoption of new payment technologies.
Innovatation
- Unified bill-payment platforms delivering a consistent experience across multiple creditors.
- Use of open banking data to dynamically align bill payments with income timing.
- Dedicated payment portals to replace email-based reminders and reduce missed payments.
- Behaviour-based analytics to identify early warning signs of affordability pressure.
- Data feedback loops to improve business cash-flow forecasting and planning.
Key Statistics
- Over 5 billion direct debit payments are processed annually.
- Approximately 1.2–1.3 billion household payments sit outside direct debit.
- Households manage an average of around eight regular bills.
- Direct debit failure rates are under 1%.
- Non-direct-debit payments experience failure rates of around 10%.
Key Discussion Points
- The evolution of payments from trust-based automation to consumer-controlled flexibility.
- The impact of gig-economy income patterns on traditional payment models.
- Why visibility and insight now matter as much as convenience.
- Barriers to open banking adoption and the need for clear consumer use cases.
- Lessons from contactless payments on scaling new financial behaviours.
- Balancing automation with consumer desire for control.
- Fragmentation of household bill management as a source of consumer stress.
- The role of payment behaviour data in affordability assessment.
- Using behavioural shifts as indicators of emerging vulnerability.
- Reducing fail payments as a shared consumer and business outcome.
- The economic importance of payment predictability and cash-flow insight.
- Why no single payment method will meet all consumer needs.
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