Debt advice organisation Payplan has joined forces with Plain Numbers, an organisation dedicated to helping firms support their customers who struggle with numbers and data.
This new partnership will allow Payplan to better serve its clients by presenting numbers and data in a totally new way to increase engagement with debt advice and improve levels of understanding.
A number of Payplan staff are currently undergoing the Plain Numbers training and will be qualified as certified Practitioners at the end, allowing them to inform change to documents and processes across the business.
Rachel Duffey, Payplan’s CEO, said:
“I’m really excited about this partnership with Plain Numbers because it will enable us to help clients overcome some of the barriers to seeking advice. Many people find it difficult to understand numbers, and low numeracy levels often contribute to a debt problem in the first place.
“When clients are presented with a budget or information about a repayment plan, the numbers can seem overwhelming. Understandably, they disengage with the process and don’t go on to get the help they need. By making financial information far more accessible, we’ll be able to help more people than ever before.”
Consumer vulnerability is an in increasing problem in the UK and poor numeracy affects half of working age adults, making it the single most common cause of vulnerability. Research by the FCA in 2015 found that 20 million people were affected by low numeracy skills.
Co-founder of Plain Numbers, Mike Ellicock, who spoke at the MALG Conference 2021, said:
“Our purpose is to show that seemingly small changes in the way that numbers are presented can massively increase comprehension amongst customers. We believe it’s possible for firms to communicate numbers and data in a way that is clear, fair and never misleading, and in a way that the majority of their customers will be able to understand.
“We’ve been working with a number of large organisations this year including The Bank of England and ClearScore, and the trials showed that the Plain Numbers approach doubled the number of people who understood the information.”