Incentivize customers to pay on time with the help of gift cards!
October 2025 | PerfectGift Experts | 5 minute read
Whether you’re living in an apartment or a house, your structure is hooked up to all kinds of utilities like water, gas, and electricity. These are essential components of modern living, and they allow us to stay connected to the internet, light our homes, do the laundry, and heat our spaces in winter. But all of this comes with a cost, and monthly utility bills are ongoing important payments that go hand in hand with your rent or mortgage. Although you can’t avoid utility payments, you can make choices that ensure you’re using the utility advantageously, so you don’t end up with a large bill you can’t afford.
Payments received after the due date can occur for a variety of reasons, but most people would like to avoid them entirely. So how can utility companies use gift cards to reduce late payments from customers? There are a lot of advantages to this type of program, which is why we’re discussing:
- Why on time utility payments are so important
- How gift cards can reduce the occurrence of late payments
- Reasons utility companies choose PerfectGift for Visa gift cards
- Key points to consider for your gift card incentive program
Why are on time payments important?
Making utility payments on time (or early) has a lot of benefits
We always want to ensure an uninterrupted utility service for ourselves and our families, which is why on time payments are necessary!
We all have a lot going on in our lives, between busy work and family schedules, as well as including a little relaxation time for ourselves. It can be hard to remember everything that’s on our to-do list, and that includes making on time payments to our monthly bills. Utilities like water, gas, and electricity are typically billed each month, and what you pay depends on how much you use. No one tries to make late payments, but unfortunately sometimes they can happen when we’ve got too much on our plate.
In the past, people used to send a check in the mail, however over the past few decades, online payment portals and automatic payments have become very popular options for some customers. However, not everyone chooses to sign up for these, or has the funds in their account to always cover a payment that comes out automatically. As a customer, making on time payments are definitely in your best interest for a few reasons:
- Avoid fees and shut off service. Perhaps the biggest reason why on time payments are crucial is that when you avoid them, you don’t have to worry about negative consequences like late fees. Utility companies want to give customers the benefit of the doubt, and often will not shut off service after just one late payment. They will, however, continue to tack on late fees based on how overdue your payment is.
If you miss an entire month of payment, you can expect to receive notices in the mail and phone calls from the company regarding when you will make a payment. It depends on the company, but typically around 90 days of non-payment is when you can expect to see a shut off. There may be special circumstances concerning shut offs (winter moratorium, no shut offs on the weekends), but those can vary from state to state. A shut off utility is something you definitely want to avoid, which is why keeping your account current, or reaching out to the utility if you’re in trouble, is essential.
- Demonstrates financial responsibility. When you have a history of on time payments, this demonstrates to creditors and the credit bureaus that you are financially responsible. Setting aside the correct amount of money each month to pay your utilities is important, as is keeping them manageable and within your budget. For example, even though you experience a hot week in the summer, keeping the A/C at a reasonable temperature (and utilizing fans and shades to keep the cool air in) can save you money on your bill. You wouldn’t expect to turn your thermostat down to 62 degrees all summer as that could lead to some enormous electric bills!
- Helps build your credit. When you’re financially responsible and living within your means this can have a positive impact on your credit score. On time payments to utility companies are reported to the credit bureaus, helping you build your credit. This is also significant for those with limited access to credit or with no credit history, as their on time payments build a history of financial responsibility without having to take out loans.
- Additional financial benefits in the future. And when you have a good credit score, it opens you up to more opportunities further in the future. When the time comes to buy a house or a car, a good score could ensure you get a lower interest rate. It can also be a factor in determining whether or not you get approved for a line of credit, a mortgage, or other essential loan.
Maintaining an on time utility payment history not only has immediate benefits (you keep your services connected), but there are also future financial benefits like access to better interest rates with a higher credit score.
How utility companies use gift cards to reduce late payments
Gift cards make great incentives in order to help reduce late payments
Everyone likes receiving gift cards, so why not leverage that and see an increase in on time payments?
There are few gifts that appeal to people across the country, no matter their age, gender, or income level quite like gift cards. This is especially true of open loop gift cards like Visa and MasterCard, which can be used almost anywhere. In fact 96% of consumers agreed that gift cards are perfectly welcome presents when compared with actual physical gifts. Which is exactly why utility companies should be taking advantage of a gift card program! If you want to reduce late payments and foster better engagement and cooperation with your customers, consider implementing one. There are many benefits, such as:
- Instant incentive. Gift cards offer instant gratification, and allow you to provide a clear benefit for the customer. Everyone enjoys spending some money on themselves in the form of a Visa gift card, so why not set up a reward program for on time payments? Using your preferred marketing channels, whether that’s emails, notices, or phone calls, make sure your customers know about the program. Using calls to action like “Get your payment in on time, receive a $25 gift card,” out there is definitely going to make sure customers pay attention and get their payments in on time so they can receive a gift card.
- Easy way to increase engagement. Not a lot of customers have a relationship with their utility companies. They pay the bill, and use the service. But what if you could change that and increase the engagement with customers, especially those who are low income or often overlooked? The utility could just be another bill, or it could be a company that’s actively working to build communication lines with their customers. Using gift cards to target late payments is going to motivate a lot of folks to ensure they get their payments in on time.
- You can offer gift cards for multiple reasons. There’s not just one way to run a gift card incentive program either, and using it to reduce late payments is just the beginning. Gift cards are incredibly motivating, because they are a great gift for all kinds of customers. In addition to encouraging customers to make on time payments, you can also run gift card programs that target signing up for an electronic account and reducing usage during peak time periods.
- An appealing gift to a variety of demographics. One of the best things about gift cards is that they’re appealing to all kinds of people. Everyone can appreciate having a little extra money to spend on something they actually want, and are definitely willing to get their utility payments in on time, or work to reduce their usage during peak hours if there’s a reward like a gift card available. Not only are gift cards preferred by folks of all ages and demographics, but you can also choose to send out physical gift cards, or electronic ones. This ensures that both tech savvy people and those who would like to hold something in their hand are appeased.
Why utility companies go with PerfectGift
PerfectGift corporate makes it easy to set up a gift card incentive program for utility customers
If setting up a gift card program to help reduce late utility payments seems daunting, not to worry, you don’t have to do this alone! PerfectGift Corporate makes it easy to send out gift cards to customers who participate in the program, helping you build engagement, and reduce late payments along the way. It’s easy to set up, and you’ll just need to follow a few simple steps:
- Choose whether you want to go with a physical Visa gift card, or an electronic one. You can also do a mix of both, depending on the preferences of your customers.
- Determine the reward amount.
- You can choose to put the name and logo of the utility company on the Visa gift card, or go with one of our many pre-designed options.
- If you have physical gift cards, they’ll be printed and shipped the same day, as long as your order is in Mon-Sat. before 4pm. This means your customers will have their gift cards in their hands ASAP! Or if you choose to go digital, they’ll be sent via email or text, and customers can easily add it to their Apple or Google wallet.
The perks of going with PerfectGift Corporate to reduce late utility payments:
- Our own fulfillment center which allows us to print and ship customized cards same day with next day delivery available!
- Google and apple wallet compatible for convenience.
- No order limits – no minimum & no maximum number of gifts or purchase value.
- Dedicated account manager with 365-day support.
- Robust branding with logos on physical & digital cards and packaging so you can easily add your property management logo.
- Access to hundreds of major merchant gift cards with everyday discounts.
- International acceptance of VISA & Mastercard
- Multiple VISA & Mastercard card expiration periods of 6, 12, 24 and 36 months (funds never expire)
- Robust ordering portal (optional API) with full order history so you can track how many gift cards have been sent.
- The portal can help you resend, replace, reissue & refund gift cards.
- Online access to complete order history including all invoices, order dates, and gift redemption date. This can help you track which incentive programs are really resonating with tenants.
Things to consider when running a gift card incentive program for utility customers
It’s important to keep your customers fully aware of the rules of your incentive program
- Always keep the terms of the program transparent, which means customers should be fully aware of what they need to do in order to receive a gift card. The last thing you want are customers who feel the program isn’t fair, or the terms aren’t explicit.
- You have a budget, so make sure to stick to it and offer gift card amounts that are doable.
- Keep track of how many gift cards have been sent out—see what customers respond to, and where they could use a little more encouragement. When you choose to go with PerfectGift Corporate, you’ll always have access to this information, as well as a dedicated support team to keep everything organized.
Will you implement a gift card incentive plan to reduce late utility payments?
Utility companies want to ensure that their customers always have access to electricity, water, and gas so that they can go about their daily routines. Ensuring that payments are received on time is an important way to prevent shut offs and loss of access for people all over the community. Gift cards are a fantastic incentive because they not only appeal to everyone, but they let the recipient choose exactly what they want to use it on!
