For a relative newcomer to the UK broadband market, Community Fibre has already made big waves. They’re determined to achieve their mission to make high-quality broadband easily accessible to Londoners. With over a million Londoners now able to access their services and being consistently rated the ‘Best Internet Provider’ on Trustpilot and once again awarded ISPA's Best Consumer ISP 50-250k and Best Business ISP, they’re already making great strides.
According to Chris Williams, the company’s CIO, seamless payments are a key contributing factor to making their customers happy. “Payments are critical for us,” explains Williams. “It’s an area of our business that needs to run just as smoothly and reliably as our broadband delivery. It plays a key role in developing trusted relationships with our customers.”
To achieve its ambitious goals in such a highly competitive market, Community Fibre is mindful of adapting to changing customer preferences. “Allowing customers to pay in the way they want has been a big focus for us recently," explains Williams.
“Direct debit has been the dominant payment method in the UK for broadband services, but that doesn’t suit everyone,” says Lorraine Kusetta, Head of IT Strategy. “For example, customers who run a tight budget may find that a direct debit fails because there isn’t enough money in their account when the payment is requested. That prompts headaches for all parties: Community Fibre has to chase up the payment with the customer, who then risks an interruption to their broadband services.”
This scenario is particularly relevant for Community Fibre, which has offerings to meet a wide range of customers from all market sectors with varying payment needs. “Many of our customers prefer to pay by card, as it gives them more control of their spending,” says Kusetta. And as the inflation-fueled cost of living crisis hit the UK, “It’s become more important than ever to give people the option of paying by card.”
With increased consumer demand for card payments, speed was one of the key criteria when the company started looking for a payments partner. “That made Checkout.com’s out-of-the-box solution super appealing to us,” says Williams.
Compliance was a key factor when enabling card payments, and Community Fibre couldn’t afford to play catch-up with regulations such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), a set of security requirements designed to protect cardholder data and ensure secure transactions. It needed a partner with the resources and domain expertise to navigate these rules on its behalf. “The fact that Checkout.com’s solution comes fully compliant with PCI DSS and other regulations just gave us one less thing to worry about,” adds Williams.
Checkout.com got Community Fibre processing card payments quickly but without compromising on compliance. “The integration process was quick, but never at a cost to necessary regulations,” says Williams.
A year on, and Williams is in no doubt about the impact Checkout.com has made. “We’ve seen a steady increase in card payments over the last year, our customer numbers have doubled and uptime has been 100%. Checkout.com has enabled us to retain customers we would have otherwise lost.”
Williams explains, “It’s critical with the growth of the business that we continue to innovate and provide excellent digital services to our customers. And payments will be a key component here.”
Checkout.com’s recurring payments solution is next on its roadmap, with Community Fibre ready to roll that out in early 2024. More customer payment options are set to follow shortly. It speaks to the strategic nature of this partnership, says Williams: “Checkout.com has a breadth of capabilities, all accessible through a single platform. So, we’re confident that they can support us with any future opportunities or challenges.
"Working with Checkout.com has been a pleasure from day one. The partnership has made a real difference to our business and our customers, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in the future,” adds Kusetta.
This is echoed by Louis Taupin, Checkout.com’s Head of UK Sales, “It’s amazing to see the positive impact our solution has had on Community Fibre and their customers – especially as payment flexibility becomes increasingly important in a challenging climate. We’re excited to support their future growth ambitions and continue to drive a competitive edge from their payments.”
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