Payment service steps in to aid community support efforts

An online payment service is offering it's person-to-person usage free of charge - to help neighbours who are looking out for the community during the coronavirus crisis.

With more than 65 per cent of people already offering or planning to support others, such as the elderly or NHS workers with everyday tasks like shopping, Ordo has launched Ordo Neighbour2Neighbour.

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For the duration of the UK’s social distancing and self-isolation period it has made its new payment service free for person to person usage so that payments can be simpler and safer for those in need of help or assisting others during this difficult time.

Neighbour2Neighbour scheme 

The Ordo Neighbour2Neighbour scheme means people who are helping others in the community by collecting and paying for items such as prescriptions, shopping or other essentials, can use Ordo to make payments with their bank’s mobile or online service which is simple, swift and secure for both parties.

With more people responding to the current crisis, Ordo’s FCA regulated secure mobile and online payment service makes it easier for people to control and keep on top of their finances.

If you’re owed money, because you've been shopping for people on your street, you sign into the Ordo app or web service.

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Ordo sends your request to be paid back (Ordo calls these requests, smart requests) to the person who wants to pay you – all you need from them, is their mobile number or email.

You choose the account you want to be paid into, and Ordo never shares these details with your payer.

The person who’s had their shopping done gets an email or text message about the smart request which gives them all the details of how much they need to pay – you can even attach a photo of the supermarket receipt if that helps.

To make the payment back to you, the payer follows the secure link in the Ordo message and is taken directly to their own bank’s mobile or online service to approve the payment from their bank account to yours.

You get the money straight away.

Vulnerable people 

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With more vulnerable people receiving help and support at this time, if the payer doesn’t have mobile or online banking they can pass the smart request from Ordo to someone else in their household or a close family member who can make the payment on their behalf.

Ordo also gives the payer the official bank account name of the person asking for money, so they can be certain they’re paying the right person.

Payments are direct to and from your bank account, so just as secure, and quicker, cheaper and easier to manage than traditional methods of payment.

Craig Tillotson, CEO and co-founder of Ordo, said: “Every day, more and more people are offering their support to help members of the community – whether that’s NHS staff or other key workers, the elderly or those with medical conditions.

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"In the current climate, many are unable to make cash or contactless payments themselves in store and are looking for safe ways to settle up with the people helping them.

"Often these volunteers are supporting several people in the same street, and using Ordo not only makes simple work of processing individual transactions, it makes it easy for the person helping to keep track of the money they need to collect and know when they’ve been paid without asking or having to look in their bank account.”

"We rely heavily on the support of our neighbours" 

NHS worker Jo Robinson said: “During this time, it has become more difficult to do those normal weekly chores like the family shop and we rely heavily on the support of our neighbours and friends to run errands for us.

"Having a payments service like Ordo available, makes it so much easier and hassle free to transfer money instantly to those that are helping us out.

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"Working full time, we wouldn’t be able to do this using a card or want to share sensitive bank details. Ordo’s Neighbour2Neighbour scheme means I can easily pay back these friends without having to handle cash or even find a cash machine.”

Download at the App Store or go to https://www.ordopay.com/consumers/ to find out more.

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