More and more people are finding that their pay isn't keeping up with the rising cost of living. In fact, the Government's Energy Secretary is so concerned about rising gas and electricity prices that he recently held a summit with the six biggest power firms, which prompted him to advise the public to check that they're on the cheapest tariff – and to see if they could save money by paying by Direct Debit1.
This really is sound advice – after all, a leaked European Commission report forecasts at least 20 years of rising energy prices2. With brilliant timing, the Cashplus prepaid Gold MasterCard® has just started to offer a free Direct Debit service. This makes the savings that are available for paying in this way open to pretty much anyone that's 18 or over and living in the UK, even if they don't have or don't want to use a high street bank account.
And unlike with many banks, with this prepaid MasterCard card, there's no penalty fee if the Direct Debit just can't be paid.
Paying bills with a Cashplus prepaid card could also save cash in other ways. For starters, there are free alerts if it looks likely that a Direct Debit looks as if it will bounce, giving the customer time to top up the account. What's more, uniquely, if the customer doesn't have enough money to cover the Direct Debit, the prepaid card can give access to an instant loan that once it's approved, is guaranteed to get the payment made on time. And that can save the customer from late payment fees.
As many Direct Debit payments as the customer needs can be set up to the Cashplus Account for free, covering everything from a satellite TV subscription to mortgage or rent payments and utility bills.
So, how much can you save through paying by Direct Debit? Well the typical total saving made over a year is £435.423. The discount available varies from company to company, but for example, EDF Energy estimate that a typical customer who chooses a dual fuel deal with them (gets both gas and electricity) and pays by Direct Debit, can expect to save up to £74 per year4. And BT state that their payment processing fee of £1.89 per month can be avoided by paying by Direct Debit – a saving of £21.60 per year5. So it's easy to see how the savings could mount up!
So anyone who is concerned about the rising cost of their bills should consider getting a Cashplus prepaid card to take advantage of its free Direct Debit service.
1Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15308005
2Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb79d97e-f7fd-11e0-8e7e-00144feab49a.html#axzz1eRXldA8N
3Source: http://www.thesmartwaytopay.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Savings.aspx – as at 28.11.2011
4Source: http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/direct-debit/direct-debit.shtml
