The BIG card has arrived - October 11th, 2005

A groundbreaking new bill payment swipecard is to be launched by allpay.net next week.

The BIG Card, which enables users to pay as many bills as they like using one piece of plastic, will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the Institiute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation Conference & Exhibition at the GMEX in Manchester on October 18.

Described as the most exciting product to hit the market in over 20 years, the BIG Card has already gone live on the Post Office® network.

Its launch in the UK heralds a new era in bill payments for the public sector as it harnesses the latest swipecard technology to make life easier for both customer and client.

Up until now people have had to juggle separate swipecards in order to pay their different bills - including housing rent and council tax - but not anymore.

Using Advanced Data Capture (ADC) technology from the Post Office®, the BIG Card has the potential to enable its users to pay as many bills as they like.

And because the BIG Card can be used in any Post Office® across the length and breadth of Great Britain making a payment with it couldn't be easier.

Benefits for the client include efficiency savings in the number of cards required for their bill payment schemes, improved customer satisfaction, rapid data transmission and reduced risk of fraud.

Tony Killeen, Managing Director of allpay.net, which is the UK's leading bill payment solution specialist, said:

"In conjunction with the Post Office®, allpay.net is thrilled to be launching what we believe is the single most exciting product to hit the bill payment market in this country for over 20 years.

"We are certain that the BIG Card will make a huge difference to people's everyday lives whilst providing huge efficiency savings to clients at the same time."

Jonathan Hill, Head of Revenue Collection Services for Post Office Ltd, said:

"We are delighted to announce the launch of this new payment service with allpay.net.

"It gives customers a more convenient way to pay for a range of council services and provides local authorities the opportunity to offer a more efficient and cost effective payment method."

The BIG Card is to be piloted by Bristol City Council with the intention of rolling out across the UK in the near future.

Bristol CC likes the idea of the BIG Card because of its potential to cover all council accounts in the future such as library charges and sports hall bookings.

Councillor John Kiely, Bristol City Council's Executive Member for Neighbourhood and Housing Services, said:

"The card means that tenants will soon be able to cross most housing office visits from their list of chores.

"The service has been delivered in a very old-fashioned way to date. Rows of staff waiting at a front desk for visitors can now be put to better use.

"The vast majority of tenants already report repairs by phone and pay their rent at the local shop or Post Office.

"Now with this card, the other bills due to the council can be paid at a more convenient place."