Bacs Payment Schemes Ltd, the organisation behind Direct Debit in the UK, have released figures showing that family finances are coming under pressure following the huge increase in household bills since 2007.
The figures show that just before the recession started (2007), annual household bills were averaging £5,834. Five years on (2012), that figure grew to £8,202, representing an increase of almost £2,400. In addition to household bills, personal outgoings for things such as gym memberships, phone bills and personal loans also grew from £3,840 to £4,156 during the same period. The combination makes a total average of £12,358 outgoings on regular bills versus the average UK salary of £26,500.
Mike Hutchinson, Bacs Head of Marketing, commented, “The household purse is increasingly being squeezed and a big bill could tip the family budget over the edge, but splitting that cost across the year could relieve some of the strain and with the discounts offered from many billers and service providers for paying by Direct Debit, there’s an opportunity to save some vital pounds.”
Direct Debit is the preferred payment method for regular bills by 64 per cent of British adults, and this is represented by the growing number of Direct Debit transactions that Bacs is processing every year. If your business accepts recurring payments for products or services through other means than Direct Debit, you may be missing out on a pool of potential customers who prefer this secure and trusted method.
SmartDebit has specialised in Direct Debit payment processing on behalf of businesses, not-for-profits and the public sector since 1998. For more information on becoming a Direct Debit service user, please contact our Sales team.