Payble Aims To Combat ‘Bill Shock’ As COVID-19 Financial Hardships Decimate Australian Households
What is needed is a proactive Bill Management App that lets consumers pay and manage their bills in one place, helping them avoid missed payments and the dire consequences
- Extended lockdowns across Australia are creating an unprecedented financial squeeze amongst consumers, compounding their monthly “Bill Shock”
- Financial Stress has increased by 4.6% for lower income workers following the release of NAB’s Financial Stress Index highlighting the hardship faced by Australian Households during COVID-19
- Utility disconnections are happening at an ever-increasing rate, with 1,000 reported in the first two weeks of March 2021, as a tsunami of debt continues to unfold
- A 10% increase in electricity consumption per the ACCC has pushed consumers further into debt, compounding their financial stress and anxiety
The extended lockdowns across Australia have witnessed a rise in utility consumption, and alongside the end of JobKeeper and Government assistance, many Australians are feeling the ‘pinch’ with a financial squeeze and pressure to ration their essential services. Compounded by a tsunami of bills piling up, people fear opening the bill and then the ultimate consequence of being disconnected. This then entices the consumer to turn to high interest-bearing cash loans from a proliferation of ‘pay-day lenders’ targeting consumers to keep their heads above water, which only compounds the situation and pushes people further into debt and adds to their ‘bill stress’ and anxiety.
Enter Payble to save the day, a new fintech platform that is empowering Australians to combat their “Bill Shock” through a smart app, reducing ‘billing stress’ and helping consumers to proactively co-ordinate and appropriately manage payments without the high cost. Payble fights for the best interest of the consumer, to ensure they can stay ahead of the bill curve, complete with the provision of intelligent reminders and flexible payment options. That is the Payble Solution.
If a consumer needs more time or a helping hand to make their bill payment, Payble will offer a range of solutions pre-approved by the biller, including fee-free instalment plans, bill smoothing or a payment extension.
Payble wants to empower all Australians to make their payments on time, whilst also enabling those that need a helping hand to avoid falling into the high interest bearing, hidden cost trap of ‘pay-day lenders’, who further add to the ‘debt pandemic’ and stress being faced by Australians.
Co-Founder and Managing Director Elliott Donazzan, an innovator and passionate tech entrepreneur, commented on providing a platform that helps consumers avoid “Bill Shock”:
“Here at Payble we are all working hard, day and night, to be an innovator in the bill payments space whilst helping consumers stay on top of their bills. During COVID-19 we’ve seen so many consumers turning to ‘pay-day lenders’ at an alarming rate, just to get by. We are now fighting this exploitation, giving consumers a choice and access to free and flexible payment options, supported by their biller, in one place. Payble helps consumers manage their bills, either paying in full or accessing the flexibility for payments that they need.”
The Payble Story So Far
Payble has been backed by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), through its venture-scaling entity x15ventures with a $1 million share investment, backing their plans to use open banking as a way to help consumers and merchants avoid the financial and emotional costs of late and missed payments. Payble seeks to “prevent late or missed payments” before they occur, to mitigate losses to both the consumer and the merchant alike using ground-breaking, easy-to-use software.
Payble also recently strengthened their team, appointing former BPAY Head of Product and Customer Experience, Jon White, to lead Product and Strategy, bringing with him a wealth of experience in the digital financial services area.
About Payble:
Payble provides a “better” way for merchants to get paid, and for consumers to be empowered to pay and manage their bills. The innovative App improves cash collection for merchants, lowers transaction costs and makes missed or late payments a “thing of the past.” Every year more than 75 million bills are missed or are paid late, which is a significant cost to the biller per transaction. Payble helps consumers manage all their bills from their pocket - users receive smart notifications (so they know when their bills are due), and can pre-emptively access flexible payment options like paying in instalments or requesting a payment extension if they need to. Payble prevents ‘Bill Shock' and helps consumers access flexible payments that suit their budget.
Payble goes live on the Apple App Store and Google Play next week, initially featuring more than 200 of the largest billers on the platform (with more added every week). Find out more at https://payble.com.au/consumer.
To contact Payble:Elliott Donazzan, Co-founder and MDE: elliott@payble.com.auOr see more at https://payble.com.au/merchants/For further information please contact:Rod North, Managing Director,Bourse Communications Pty LtdT: (03) 9510 8309, M: 0408 670 706,E: rod@boursecommunications.com.au