Cuckoo has entered into a new three-year agreement with GoCardless to further enhance their “tech-heavy” end-user experience.
Now, this usually wouldn’t be the most exciting news to report on, but this is Cuckoo. And Cuckoo is still very much the “disruptor” in the broadband space.
I’ve been following Cuckoo’s journey since 2018/2019 when the original three founders put together a plan to disrupt a rather “grey-bearded” industry. Not only did the outfit come to market with one of the sexiest brands the ISP space has ever seen, but it was clear they were going to use technology to disrupt the normally negative relationship between ISP & customers.
From the very beginning, we could tell these guys were going to do things differently. For example, straight off the bat, when they raised their seed fund, you can see they were constantly looking to hire internal development resources (again, not the normal trend for a new emerging ISP).
Snip: Tommy Toner (One of the Original Founders and current CPO): LinkedIn Page 2021
Now, looking forward, it’s clear that Cuckoo is still on the same track to continue enhancing experiences for end customers with their extension with GoCardless.
GoCardless is the ” go-to” for more tech-savvy ISPs wanting to collect money through direct debit. Having firsthand experience with their product, I can understand why. For those who rely on automated processes when setting up a customer, GC has an extensive array of APIs to ensure the human touch element is removed. Which is absolutely paramount to any scaling brand.
Over the past six years, we’ve had countless new ISPs enter the market, and each has been vocal about wanting to scale at pace. In order to do so, ISP’s need to automate as much of the “onboarding process” as possible. From the moment the consumer signs up, whether it’s through an internal digital journey, an external digital referral, or over the telephone, the moment the customer says “yes,” a huge number of clogs need to start turning to ensure the customer has the best experience possible.
One of those important steps is setting up a direct debit and offering customers flexibility when it comes to money exiting their bank for a subscription service. Go Cardless allows brands to bring that “Netflix-esc” approach to subscription billing.
ISP’s will often look to outsource two important elements when charging customers for a monthly service. 1. A billing facility. 2. A direct debit facility.
You would assume the latter would be a plain-jane discovery process, and all direct debit facilities would do the same; well, you couldn’t be more wrong. You see, in the broadband world (and other subscription service worlds), we have something called anniversary billing. This is when customers want to choose the date the money exits the customer’s account.
From an operations and accounting point of view, this is absolute carnage. You have to have extensive API’s to allow the billing platform, direct debit facility, and accounting facility to all talk to each other and keep the business and the customer up to date.
You, as the customer, want to know what you’ve paid, when you’ve paid it and how much is outstanding, if any. You may also want to change the date you’re direct comes out.
It sounds like such a small part of an ISP’s process, but it’s the complete opposite.
So, without turning this into a product demo of GoCardless, trust me when I say those guys have it nailed.
Seeing the two brands (Cuckoo and GC) continue to work together means we’ll see more of what we love from Cuckoo: disruption and “tech firsts.”
Some comments from the two companies are below…
Tommy Toner, Chief Product Experience Officer at Cuckoo said: “We’re really pleased to be renewing our partnership with GoCardless – it’s a brand that’s grown with us over the last 3 years, and a relationship we’re keen to continue into the future.
“Cuckoo’s goal is to deliver fast, fair and feel-good broadband, and part of that is unmatched customer service at every stage of the journey. Payments are no exception.
“We’re on a mission to transform the broadband industry and revolutionise the sector’s reputation for customer service. By partnering with innovators like GoCardless, we’re able to deliver an industry-leading customer experience.”
Pat Phelan, Managing Director of UK & Ireland and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless, said: “We’re proud to continue our long-term relationship with Cuckoo, from supporting them in the early days to helping them deliver on a number of strategic initiatives.
“Our bank payments platform will help Cuckoo scale with ease as they execute their growth plans while giving their customers an easy ‘set it and forget it’ payment experience.
“And, with the upcoming Instant Bank Pay integration, Cuckoo will be able to offer an even more seamless payment flow as they deliver fast, fair, feel-good broadband up and down the country.”
