Payit by NatWest Survey Flags Payment Friction in Telcos

Delivering a strong customer experience goes beyond simply providing fast connectivity.

New research from Payit by NatWest highlights an emerging issue for UK telecom and utility providers: payment systems are becoming a growing point of friction.

Legacy infrastructure, fragmented data, and payment disruptions are impacting both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Around 23% of respondents report that payment processing challenges are actively deteriorating the customer experience, while nearly all organisations surveyed (99%) say they have encountered payment disruptions.

The findings indicate that billing and payments are fast becoming a critical area for telco providers to address.

How are data gaps costing telco providers?

The research identifies limited access to consented customer financial data as a major constraint.

Without visibility into affordability or account-level insights, businesses are left operating with what Payit describes as a “data gap”.

This lack of insight makes it harder to evaluate creditworthiness, tailor payment plans and provide appropriate support to customers facing financial pressure.

The knock-on effect is being felt across payment operations.

There is clear demand for improved data integration.

Four in five respondents say that aligning customer financial data with billing systems would enable faster, more accurate decision-making, while also helping organisations better identify and assist vulnerable customers.

James Hodgson, CEO at Payit by NatWest, says: "Just as utilities and telecoms prioritise the bill-payer, Payit by NatWest is committed to a customer-centric approach to payments.

"We are always working on new ways to solve payment frictions for all parties involved in the transaction.

"We encourage companies to adopt Open Banking solutions to overcome traditional hurdles and eliminate inefficiency across the payment landscape."

Do legacy payment systems continue to dominate?

In short, yes – but not without consequences.

Despite awareness of the advantages offered by modern payment tech, many telecom and utility providers remain dependent on traditional payment methods.

The survey shows that 43% rely on card payments, while 42% still use conventional bank transfers.

In contrast, only 36% have implemented Pay by Bank or Open Banking solutions.

This continued reliance on legacy infrastructure appears to be contributing to many of the issues raised by respondents.

Traditional payment methods typically involve more manual processing, carry a higher risk of failure, and provide limited access to real-time financial data – factors that can disrupt the customer journey.

Open Banking offers a more streamlined alternative, enabling instant account-to-account payments alongside secure access to consented financial data.

This approach can help reduce failed payments, enhance fraud controls, support quicker affordability checks, and minimise the administrative burden of managing payment data.

How is customer experience paying the price?

The implications extend beyond back-office functions and directly affect the customer relationship.

In an increasingly competitive digital market, the research suggests that optimising the payment experience is becoming just as important as improving core services.

For telco providers, modernising payment infrastructure and making better use of financial data could be key to eliminating friction in billing processes and enabling faster, more reliable customer journeys.