The department sends the reminders and reminders that are sent out with the POM software application. “A user-friendly system that can handle large quantities. We are very satisfied with it,” says team leader Terence Verwer.

There are around 95,000 students on the UvA and HvA campuses. The tuition fees they have to pay for their studies are transferred to part of them at once. The other group has the amount due withdrawn from their bank account via direct debit spread over ten months. Approximately ten business days after the collection, the bank reports back whether the transaction was successful or not. “Given the cancellations, this collection does not always work out well for a number of students,” says Terence. “Within a week of the bank's notification, we will send an email with a payment link to these students so that they can still pay the outstanding amount. Literally a 'mail to pay' (as POM was previously known).”

Easy-to-use software

Terence is very happy with the software. “We've been with POM for two years now. I think a big advantage of their payment software is that no one knows that the payments are made via POM. The emails with the reminders simply have our own logo on them. That builds trust. We also see that students pay better since we had POM as a partner.”

Another advantage of Terence is the user-friendliness of the application. “In the dashboard, we can see at a glance what the state of affairs is with regard to a particular student. Has he already paid or not? And if not, has the mail already been read or still unopened? Or not arrived?”

Large amounts of emails in one go

A major advantage of the POM software is that the user can modify the texts themselves, says Terence. “We have quite a few foreign students here who want to communicate with us in English. So we have drawn up a Dutch and an English text for the reminders. Next, it's simple: for reminders to foreign students, we choose the template with the English text, upload the corresponding population and send all messages at once. That's also nice, by the way: the system can handle large amounts of emails at the same time.”

Good helpdesk

The service related to the software also deserves a good grade, says Terence. “The helpdesk is easily accessible and knowledgeable. I just dial the number and I'm always well helped, no matter who I get on the phone. If someone can't help me anyway, they'll get me called back within a certain period of time. And that's what happens.”

POM more

To ensure that students' payment behavior improves, Terence's department continuously looks at the processes. “POM thinks along with us and offers ideas. For example, we are now investigating whether payment behavior improves when we send interim payment emails. We are also thinking about sending payment links via WhatsApp. But that's still in the future, because then you also have to deal with a bit of security and the new AVG. But also: how do students experience such a message? Does it weigh enough to encourage them to pay? Such things are also reflected in our biannual progress meeting with POM and the big, annual evaluation meeting that we have with each other. I like that, even though POM is growing so fast, they know how to stick to the core of their services and always look at customer needs. As a customer, that is important to me.