Streamlining utility payments while engaging the citizens of Belen

About Belen

The regional utility department in Belen, New Mexico, plays a crucial role in serving the city’s citizens and managing their billing needs. Beyond its primary function of collecting payments for water utilities, the utility department also assumes the responsibility of processing payments on behalf of various other municipal departments.

The Challenge

Belen’s Utility Department used both utility billing software and a web-based online bill payment system. The payment system was outdated and slow to scale its capabilities, relying heavily on the clerks’ manual input. It was crucial to provide citizens with a seamless, easy-to-use payment platform that improved adoption and minimized late payments.

Working with Nuvei to implement a new payment system has revolutionized the way Belen's citizens pay for their utilities. It has also transformed the way we communicate with them, especially the older generation. Historically, our department took all payments for the city of Belen, so we desperately needed an easier system. With more people paying online it allows us to serve all customers more effectively and take better care of all our citizens. The new platform has been so successful, other departments are now jumping on board to use the technology.

Daniel Carbajal - Finance Director Belen, NM Water Dept.  

The Solution

Critically, Belen’s Utility Department needed the system to improve the timeliness of payments, increase the use of online transactions, and reduce the overall number of customer calls and walk in payments. Nuvei Government Suite was ideal. It featured multi-lingual capabilities, citizen engagement features, multi-property management, and walk-in shopping cart functionality.

The Results

After the Nuvei platform was established, portal registrations increased substantially; 400%. Autopay signups increased by an astounding 830%. This success is both thanks to Nuvei’s intuitive technology and the multi-lingual features for Belen’s Spanish-speaking citizens. To date, over 50% of Belen’s citizens use the Nuvei Government Suite.