One of the reasons that led to the migration was SEPA, Europe’s harmonization of payments throughout the Eurozone. But also digitalization and customer convenience played a role in the decision to go paperless. The end of paper bills does not mean that tenants can only pay with AcceptEmail: "For those that do not wish to take the step yet, we offer a wide variety of other payment options like direct debit, autopay or credit transfer."

Lower risk
"The biggest change in the process is the abandonment of all paper handling." explains Ardie when asked what has changed for Standvast with the introduction of AcceptEmail. "The lead time of the entire bill payment process is dramatically shortened and the chance of our tenants making mistakes in the process is minimized. Furthermore the migration has led to an increase in the use of direct debit. This is good news for Standvast given the low transaction costs, reduced administrative handling and zero chance of faults for both methods."

New email addresses
According to Ardie the use of the service is quick, clear, safe and pricing wise very interesting. Applying AcceptEmail did bring up one issue: "Some tenants changed their email address more often than expected. In those cases they cannot be reached. Luckily there are alternatives: the AcceptEmail can be presented via text message to their mobile phone or the tenant can opt to use another payment method. Standvast prefers AcceptEmail though, since paper based methods require a signature, an envelope and flawless processing by ordinary mail. Using AcceptEmail all necessary information is pushed through the entire payment process, resulting in a guarantee that the payment reference in the AcceptEmail stays intact until it appears on the bank statement, making debtors reconciliation a piece of cake. "

Positive customer reactions
Tenants using the AcceptEmail service are positive about this new way of bill payment: "Tenants tell us that they experience that everything is settled and completed much quicker and they like the proof of payment – the green AcceptEmail banner." explains Ardie. "There will be a minority of tenants that would like to stick to paper, but we really want to discourage that." Ardie is also very positive about the cooperation with DataB during the implementation of AcceptEmail: "DataB has played a positive and pro-active role in the implementation. Reaction speed, thinking with us on how to change the process, making the necessary knowledge available and coordinating the necessary effort of all parties involved have all been very positive. This enabled us to migrate to AcceptEmail quickly and smoothly, leaving paper bills behind us."