TWU bills to have new look, more payment options

The look of Texarkana Water Utilities bills is about change, and more payment options with lower transaction fees will be available to customers.

Beginning in January, mailed paper bills will have a different visual format meant to be easier to read. A new customer web portal also will debut, designed to make it easier for customers to manage their accounts, including making payments online. The new website will post payments immediately, eliminating lag times possible with the current site.

A self-service kiosk in the TWU offices at 801 Wood St. will allow customers to pay via credit or debit card. Customers also will have new paperless options for receiving bills and notifications, including via email, text and automated voice message.

The transaction fee charged for paying online will decrease for most customers. Now $3.75 per transaction, the fee for online or kiosk payments will change to $2.25 or 3 percent of the amount due, whichever is higher. Water rates will not change.

TWU will eliminate paper past due notices, and customers will get only one mailed bill per month. Electronic notic-

es will be available, and TWU administrative coordinator Pam White encourages customers to ensure their contact information—including cell phone number and email address—is up to date.

“We’re really just trying to accommodate those customers that prefer to do things online,” White said.

TWU customer service staff have been working extra hours and weekends to implement the complicated changes, which involve almost every aspect of operations.

Continental Utility Solutions Inc. of Jonesboro, Ark., is helping oversee the transition. Earlier this year, CUSI won a $398,000-plus contract to replace TWU’s billing software. The change improved TWU’s internal processes, including shortening from 10 days to 10 minutes the time required to prepare some reports.

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