MEDIA RELEASE
25 January 2005
MERCURY ENERGY CUSTOMERS EMBRACE e-PAYMENTS
Mercury Energy announced today that more than half of its 265,000 residential customers are now paying their power bills
electronically.
Direct debit is now the most popular form of payment with 24% of customers using this set-and-forget payment method.
Electronic payment methods also include automatic payments, online banking, phone banking and credit card payments.
Mark Carter, Mercury Energy's General Manager Consumer Markets, says the move to electronic payment methods has been
driven by both the consumer and the company.
"We've been actively encouraging our customers to pay electronically since January 2002. Those that pay by direct debit,
automatic payment, phone or online banking receive a 2% EasyPay discount on top of a prompt payment discount of 10%," he
says.
"Consumers are also switching to electronic payments as they offer an easy, safe and more convenient alternative to
traditional payment methods."
The launch of Mercury Energy's online billing service 12 months ago, has also driven customers to pay via internet
banking with more Mercury customers now paying online or using phone banking than those who post in cheques. To date
more than 5,000 customers receive their Mercury Energy bills via email.
Mercury Energy also reports that payment by credit card has risen by 39% in the past 12 months (December 2003-2004). The
company puts this increase down to customers who use their credit cards for everyday payments in order to collect the
associated loyalty points.
Ends