“Together, we make payment easier”
Sometimes you come across an organization that you immediately know: we complement each other perfectly. POM & Twikey also had that feeling right away. The two therefore recently signed a partner agreement to further optimize their customers' payment transactions together.
POM helps organizations collect invoices faster, more customer-friendly and cheaper — from the first invoice to collecting outstanding amounts. Twikey offers a wide range of payment options and specializes in solutions for recurring payments, such as digitally recording legal mandates for direct debits.
Optimizing payment traffic
Soon after their introduction, POM and Twikey saw how their services complement each other almost seamlessly. “Our services focus on recurring payments, or recurring payments,” says Dennis Meijer, Partner Manager at Twikey. “For example, paying rent, electricity, insurance premiums, fuel cards or a subscription. We arrange a legally valid mandate digitally and ensure that payments arrive.” POM's Corporate Relations Manager Adriaan Hartog adds: “If a payment fails or is canceled, our system automatically picks up the follow-up. This way, no turnover is lost.”
Dennis continues: “By combining and making optimal use of our knowledge and experience, we offer a complete solution together: more customers pay automatically, the success rate increases and follow-up in case of failed payments runs smoothly. We arrange the mandate, automate the collection process and take smart actions if a payment fails, for example with a new collection attempt or reapplying for a SEPA mandate. This way, our customers save time and increase their collection results. We also help companies convert customers who still pay manually to direct debits or make it easier to collect payment arrangements.”
Legally valid mandates as a basis
Both Twikey and POM are enthusiastic about the collaboration. “Many companies have customers without an authorization or with an expired authorization,” says Adriaan. “With Twikey, we can quickly establish new permissions.”
In addition, the authorization that Twikey obtains is legally valid. And that is crucial, emphasises Dennis. “Just filling in an IBAN and ticking the box for agreement — as often happens — is actually not enough. This does not comply with the SEPA guidelines. The big risk of a poorly regulated authorization is the cancellation period. Since the introduction of SEPA in 2014, the standard has been 56 days. If you do not have a valid mandate, a customer can still object for an unjustified collection up to thirteen months after the charge. No matter how justified your claim is, the amount can still be withdrawn during that period. Moreover, banks are increasingly monitoring whether the mandate has been obtained correctly — and for good reason.”
Standard coupling
In the coming period, POM and Twikey will build optimal cooperation: a standard link that is easy to activate and always does what it needs to do. Dennis: “We want to offer companies a solution that is quick to implement, improves cash flow and reduces internal costs. The first customers we spoke to are enthusiastic and will be working with it this year.”