The latest research by Bacs shows that 1 in 4 direct debit (DD) users in the UK are now using the service more than they were 12 months previously and the ‘UK Cash & Cash Machines 2010’ report by the Payments Council, UK Cards Association and LINK, shows that automated teller machines (ATMs) are continuing to spread across the country with more than 60,000 now in use.

The research by Bacs Payments Schemes Ltd showed that the number of adults responding positively to Direct Debit grew year-on-year from 74 per cent last year to 79 per cent in 2010. Direct Debit is also widely seen as a cost effective method for businesses to collect regular payments from customers, as it gives organisations the opportunity to realise administrative and cost saving benefits (i.e. no credit card fees). The 2010 Bacs research, containing a representative sample of the UK population, showed that 63 per cent prefer to pay their regular bills by DD rather than use alternative options – of those, 68 per cent of them want to pay all their bills in this manner for the ease and convenience. Just six per cent of British adults admitted they were using DD less than they were 12 months ago.

Relative youngsters in the 25-44 year-old category remain the greatest advocates of DD, according to the report, with 71 per cent preferring it to other payment methods for regular household and personal bills.

Commenting on the findings Mike Hutchinson, head of marketing at Bacs, said: “The high proportion of adults that are positive towards Direct Debit provides British businesses with a strong platform upon which they can build further sign-up with their customer base. To help businesses achieve higher take-up of Direct Debit, Bacs offers a wide range of marketing tools that businesses can use to create and enhance their sign-up campaigns.”

“Bacs’ range of tools is particularly useful for those organisations that are looking to communicate with customers who have expressed a reluctance to use Direct Debit,” adds Hutchinson. “A critical element of this is messaging, for example there is very little point talking about convenience when it holds very little meaning with the audience. Working in conjunction with Experian, Bacs has developed a marketing tool that can help firms identify key messaging that would be most effective with a specific audience.”

• The ‘UK Cash & Cash Machines 2010’ report by the Payments Council, UK Cards Association and LINK, shows how the British go about getting their hands on cash, providing figures such as how many ATMs there now are in the country and much other information besides. Statistics on how, where and how frequently we obtain cash for daily use is obtainable, as is the forecasts for how cash usage will change over the next ten years [see HERE for the previous ‘Way We Pay’ report from the Payments Council].

The ‘Cash and Cash Machines’ report provides additional information on owns the UK’s ATMs, geographical distribution, and what else we use them for – for example, mobile phone top ups and so forth. For more information, and to purchase a copy of the report, see HERE.

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