Amid the second wave of COVID-19 infections, the City of Cape Town has appealed to its residents to use online options to pay their municipal accounts and to make the switch to e-billing.
In 2018, the city revealed that since introducing paperless invoicing, it saves R2.1 million a year on postage, printing and paper costs.
Customers that opt for paperless invoices are able to view their statements online and will receive them via e-mail and SMS.
In a statement, the city reveals that 300 000 customers currently receive their monthly invoices via e-mail.
The city says it hopes to the number of customers using e-billing services will increase rapidly over the next few years, adding it witnessed an increase in the number of residents choosing the e-billing option at the beginning of the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
“The city’s drive to go paperless holds numerous benefits for our customers, for the environment and for the city itself,” says the statement.
The city’s mayoral committee member for finance, alderman Ian Neilson, adds: “We are encouraged to see the recent growth in e-billing customers and hope this number will continue to increase. We know that our account-holders expect an efficient, technologically-advanced and cost-effective administration. We believe there are many more account-holders who have e-mail addresses who could benefit from this convenient offering. We encourage more of our customers to register for e-billing.
“Our large billing system has a 99% accuracy rate and with more people opting for paperless billing, the system is enhanced for all customers. Thank you to all our account-holders for their continued payments and support, especially during this extraordinary time.”
Explaining the benefits of switching to e-billing, the city notes these include savings on postage, printing and paper; invoices reaching customers faster; reduced impact on the environment; easy filing of invoices by customers; better cash flow for the city; and more direct control over sending and receiving invoices.
The city advises citizens to click here to access the e-billing registration portal. Otherwise, customers may also e-mail help.uces@capetown.gov.za and request to be registered for e-billing.
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