Visa Says 73% of UK University Students Want Technology for Managing Bills

Visa found that 73% of university students in the United Kingdom would welcome technology that makes it easier for them to manage their bills.

The findings came from a survey of 2,000 students between the ages of 18 and 23, according to a Tuesday (Aug. 19) press release.

The survey revealed that 88% of these students said they feel overwhelmed by managing their finances and that 39% said they find managing bills to be the hardest part of being an adult, per the release.

Specific challenges they have faced in managing their bills include bills or subscriptions being higher than they expected (69%), missing a payment due to insufficient funds (48%), arguing with housemates about bill payments (47%), facing difficulty in recovering money after being overcharged for a bill (22%), and having no control over a payment leaving their account (19%), according to the release.

“Leaving home for the first time is a memorable milestone, bringing a sense of independence as well as the responsibility of having to manage your finances on your own,” Mandy Lamb, managing director, U.K. and Ireland at Visa, said in the release. “This can be daunting without the right tools, and when things go wrong, students can often feel lost and unsure where to seek help.”

Students said tools that would help them manage their bills include greater flexibility with payment dates (29%), greater understanding of payment terms (28%) and the ability to cancel or switch easily (28%), according to the release.

Visa now offers in the U.K. market a new technology, Visa A2A, that enables consumers to pay via bank transfer and have a level of protection similar to that associated with card payments, including advanced security features and a dispute resolution service, per the release.

“We believe our Visa A2A solution can help students to build confidence in managing their money,” Lamb said in the release. “By simplifying the way students manage their bills, we can give them greater visibility into how much money is coming out of their account and when, while giving them a way to recover their money if something goes wrong.”

Consumers’ ability to manage and control how they set up their “mandates” with their service providers is one of the key aspects of Visa’s A2A offering, Mehret Habteab, senior vice president and head of products at Visa Europe, told PYMNTS in an interview posted in September.

“There’s something in this for everybody,” Habteab said, adding that “consumers need to feel safe and confident that they have choice and control surrounding their payments.”

In June, Visa said its A2A platform is “market-ready” for bill and subscription payments, with eCommerce to follow, and promises U.K. consumers and merchants a safety net that the market’s open banking rails have largely lacked.