8x8 Fast Pay launches to ease tenant rent & council workloads

8x8 has introduced 8x8 Fast Pay, a digital service intended to make rent management and access to financial support easier for tenants while reducing the workload for council staff.

The service provides tenants across the United Kingdom with multiple options to pay rent or seek help, using SMS messaging to start secure payments or begin digital conversations for further assistance. The system automates routine inquiries, offers guidance towards available support such as Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP), and allows for a seamless switch to a live agent when needed, ensuring that residents are not hindered during the process.

One of the core features of 8x8 Fast Pay is its focus on flexibility. Tenants can either pay online quickly or connect directly with a staff member, in a way designed to reduce missed payments and alleviate arrears for council landlords. The service is also fully compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), designed to ensure that transactions remain secure for both the councils and tenants using the system.

Financial pressures in focus

The introduction of digital alternatives for rent payments and guidance on support services comes as many households in England experience heightened financial strain. Research from the housing charity Shelter indicates that over two-thirds of people with housing costs in England have reported money worries in the last year, with nearly 20 million affected and 21% struggling to keep up with rent or mortgage commitments.

8x8 Fast Pay's addition of automated conversations is intended to provide an empathetic touch at scale, handling straightforward questions with supportive language. This is aimed at giving council staff the capacity to spend more time on complex or urgent cases.

The guidance features built into the service aim to connect more residents with financial relief. For those entitled to further help, the system highlights specific programs like Discretionary Housing Payments, aiming to ensure that claimants do not miss out on available assistance.

Reducing council workloads

"In councils across the country, staff are juggling huge caseloads while doing everything they can to help citizens in need," said Maxine Eunson, Head of Public Sector at 8x8. "8x8 Fast Pay lightens that load – giving people a quick, secure way to make payments, or start a conversation if they need more help. This is technology with heart: simple, dignified, and designed for real life."

The flexibility of the system allows at any point for tenants to move from interacting with the automated assistant to speaking with a member of council staff, with all prior context maintained. This is designed to reduce frustration and ensure no users are left without the support they need.

Part of wider digital efforts

The launch of 8x8 Fast Pay continues the company's efforts to digitise processes for public service providers. Its previous solutions include 8x8 Remote Fix, 8x8 Active Assessor for social housing providers, and the deployment of artificial intelligence for automating appointment booking and handling enquiries on topics ranging from refuse collections to electoral questions.

By integrating these services, 8x8 aims to reduce manual workloads and administrative overhead for local authorities, while improving accuracy and response times when dealing with both routine and more involved tenant queries.

With financial pressures on households continuing, and local authority resources often stretched, digital tools such as 8x8 Fast Pay form part of a growing trend of councils turning to automated solutions for both resilience and efficiency in service delivery.