PRISM UTILITY VENDING SYSTEM (UVS)

Overview

The Utility Vending System (UVS) allows Utility Companies to manage Prepaid Vending to Standard Transfer Specification (STS) Electricity, Water and Gas meters in a turnkey solution.

Features

Meter Management:

  • Main features are comprehensive customer and supply point information and meter management.
  • It has never been easier to manage and control your meters.
  • Meters can now be blocked or suspended from vending, ensuring maximum control.
  • Meters can also be associated with a Place of Connection (POC), allowing for location-based management.

Tariff Management:

  • Allows Utility Companies to design tariffs to suit their requirements with multiple rates (block tariff), various charges as well as numerous free units on a single tariff.

Consumer Management:

  • Allows Utility Companies to manage their consumers and arrears better. Arrears are controlled by the consumer rather than by meter, simplifying collection.

Supports Multiple Utilities:

  • An installed hosted system can support multiple independent utilities. This saves on costs associated with installation, hosting, operating system and database licenses.
  • The multiple independent utilities each have access to their individual supply group codes meter and customer bases.
  • This feature makes it ideal for hosting a single system at a central point, and multiple private utilities can benefit from the cost savings achieved through hardware sharing. Prism offers such a hosted service. Contact us for details on how to become operational and start saving immediately.

Bulk & Individual Token Generation:

  • Tokens may be generated individually or in bulk.

Partners

  • EasyPay has a proven track record of over twenty years.
  • Offering a nationwide footprint with secure payments at a variety of retail networks, with over 100,000 payment points.
Use the Easypay Mobile Application for Vending.
Use the Easypay Mobile Application for Vending.

Benefits:

  • Enterprise-grade security, reliability and functionality, using STS certified devices.
  • Easy integration with point-of-sale, token distribution and smart meter head end systems using an easy to use high-level interface.
  • Upgradeable to support the IEC 62055-41 Edition 3 (STS600) specification using the High-Level Security Module (HLSM). Included are the new security features as well as TID rollover.
  • Host it yourself or let us pay you by collecting your tenants’ prepayments in advance and paying directly to your bank account.
  • Free! Do zero setup and maintenance costs appeal to you? Within South Africa and neighbouring countries, we offer a solution called Software as a Service (SaaS) from a UVS hosted at our sister company, EasyPay in Cape Town.
 

 

  • Token sales are available at all EasyPay outlets, including those in neighbouring states.
  • No setup costs, no maintenance costs, merely manage your customers and meters and let us collect money for you.
  • No hassles about technology upgrades, TID rollover, and license cost – these will be taken care of.
  • The EasyPay service includes a Mobile App.

Utility Companies

  • The UVS has been designed with the large user in mind, typically municipalities and hosted vending sites.
  • It has the ability to integrate with payment and distribution networks.
  • Utility companies deploying STS certified prepaid meters use the UVS to manage their meters, tariffs and customers.
  • As the solution is meter independent, utilities have the freedom to choose from their preferred meter suppliers without fear of changing their vending system.
  • It can be configured to support many independent utilities, each with their unique access and management interface.
  • By partnering with Mobile Operators, we offer utility companies the utility vending Platform as a Service (PaaS).
  • The utilisation of existing distribution channels alleviates infrastructure headaches while ensuring maximum distribution reach to the consumer.
  • Use preferred meter suppliers without changing vending systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How does vending occur and will this replace the current system?”

A: The system will replace the existing system.

  • Vending can be done in many ways.
  • For installation in another country, a level of integration with the infrastructure should exist in the country of deployment.
  • The sales distribution system Virtual Top-Up (VTU), initially developed for mobile network operators for prepaid airtime top-ups, has since been adapted for electricity, water and gas.
  • The VTU supports nodes for integration to ATM’s, web pages, terminals, USSD, for example.
  • These are not necessarily supplied, yet they are supported.
  • In South Africa, mobile applications for vending are used which need not be linked to local banks.
Q: Can the EasyPay vending system support block tariffs?

A. The EasyPay utility vending system can support block tariffs.

  • To use different tariffs on the same SGC, different Tariff Indexes are allocated to the meters which requires a key change on the meter.
Q: Which system should I choose?

A. Various systems can be purchased and operated independently, with licensed software.

  • The standalone systems are suitable for cash sales or integration with a payment system. You pay a license per transaction. There are low and high-speed versions available.
  • Alternatively, a hosted system at EasyPay may be used, that is integrated with the retail and banking footprint. There are no upfront costs; however, approximately one thousand meters are required to sign up and access to the ‘Private Utility’. You need to be a Supply Group Code owner for any of the vending systems, meaning one sub-vends on behalf of property owners. The municipal bill is settled from income collected on their behalf. The rate varies depending on the number of meters and is a percentage of the sale.

STS Prepayment Solutions/
Payment (EFT) HSM Solutions

+27 31 267 5500

6 Sookhai Place, Westville,
Kwazulu-Natal,
South Africa

Email

info@prism.co.za

STS Prepayment Solutions/
Payment (EFT) HSM Solutions

+27 31 267 5500

6 Sookai Place, Westville,
Kwazulu Natal,
South Africa

Email

info@prism.co.za