Charnwood Borough Council

Working closely with Capita, Charnwood Borough Council now offers a range of highly secure payment options which enable its citizens to make a payment at any time of day, all the year round.

Background

Charnwood sits centrally in the triangle formed by Nottingham, Leicester and Derby and is home to over 150,000 people. Over a third of the population live in the thriving university town of Loughborough, with many of the remainder living in the large villages or small towns of the Soar and Wreake valleys and on the edge of Leicester.

The challenge

In early 2005 Charnwood saw an increase in the number of citizens wanting to make payments by credit or
debit cards without visiting the cash office, but they were limited to a basic internet payment solution from their existing supplier. The Council was using Spectrum Cash Receipting but when it came to introducing other payments channels, found the AXIS solutions to be the most comprehensive.

The solution

In July 2005 the Council went live with AXIS Internet Payments which enables its citizens to pay for a wide range of council services, together with the AXIS Payment Portal. The portal allows the Council to take payments whilst integrating seamlessly with a range of third-party or in-house front-end systems such as leisure bookings and bulky item and garden waste collection.

The results

“Customers can now make a payment at any time of day all the year round, either by telephone or via the Internet. This has resulted in a tangible efficiency gain through releasing staff time so that it can be better spent to the benefit of both the Council and its citizens,” commented David.