Each year local councils around Australia process millions of dollars across rates, infringements and fines.
This is typically a far from enjoyable experience for those paying these fines or rates, and this is often compounded by a frustratingly poor user experience provided by these councils.
There are also issues around fines and infringements being issued to individuals who cannot afford to pay them, and the processes in place to move them onto payment plans and the like.
One investigation into local government services found customer satisfaction was at just 68 out of 100.
Sydney-based startup Payble has developed a payment experience platform aimed squarely at improving the services offered by local government, for the benefits of both parties in the equation.
The Payble platform helps councils to create first-class customer experience for their ratepayers, assisting them with the payment of rates, infringements and fines, and to set up payment plans if needed.
After the implementation of Payble, customer satisfaction rates with local council services rose sharply to up to 98 out of 100.
The service has also helped councils to save half a million dollars on average, and freed up 1000 hours of manual labour, meaning these human workers can be reallocated to areas of greater need.
Payble is a finalist in the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence in the GovTech Project, Product or Service category. The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence winners and finalists will be celebrated at a black-tie gala dinner at The Venue Alexandria in Sydney on Wednesday October 30. You can book your tickets here.
The GovTech Project, Product or Service category is sponsored by Reason Group.
Payble started as a small tool that helped local councils to text citizens in order to better understand whether or not they were financially able to pay their rates on time.
This then evolved into a fully-functional solution that helped council to detect who was at risk of financial hardship and proactively provide them with support to make flexible payments. This service also provided all community members with the ability to make payments in less than five steps, taking a quarter of the time than with previous approaches.
The Payble platform also facilitates council bills being split into smaller fortnightly and monthly payments, helping people to make these payments and reducing arrears for council bodies.
Payble has partnered with the City of Parramatta, Moreton Bay Regional Council and more than 20 other local government organisations around Australia.
It is able to be integrated with local government tech providers such as TechnologyOne, Info and Civica, and serves to not replace existing payment gateways, but to complement them.
Payble also recently became the first organisation in the space to be certified under Australia’s Consumer Data Right.
The company has landed more than $4 million in venture capital funding.
Looking for brand exposure in front of Australia’s tech ecosystem? Purchase a table of 10 for the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence and have your logo displayed on screens across the venue and in the event programme as a table sponsor.
The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence are supported by: Australian Computer Society, Investment NSW, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Technology Council of Australia, TechnologyOne, National Artificial Intelligence Centre, CSIRO’s ON Innovation Program, Reason Group, Q-CTRL, University of New South Wales, South by South West Sydney and IP Australia.
Protecting your great ideas with intellectual property (IP) rights can lead to lasting benefits for your growing business. IP refers to creations of the mind, such as a brand, logo, invention, design or artistic work. Head to the IP Australia website to find out more about IP, and how it might help your business.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.