NS&I Government Payment Services announces new contract with the Home Office

• NS&I Government Payment Services will take over payments processing and related services with the aim of delivering cost savings of around 10%.

NS&I Government Payment Services has today announced its third contract, taking over payments processing and related services for the Home Office’s in-country immigration service.

The contract started on 1st July 2013. The first phase involves NS&I commencing operations using existing processes. In the following months, NS&I will work to identify and implement efficiencies, with the aim of delivering cost savings of around 10% on a like-for-like basis and as a consequence of systems modernisation and process improvements.

NS&I, the government agency which is best known for offering Premium Bonds to the general public, began offering its payment processing services to other government bodies under the brand name NS&I Government Payment Services in 2011. The new contract will enable NS&I to continue to deliver cost effective financing for government and to reduce its costs, in line with the Government’s policy of fiscal consolidation.

NS&I has been processing customer payments since it was established over 150 years ago and now has over £100 billion invested by millions of savers. In 2011-12, NS&I’s UK-based contact centres handled more than 3.5 million calls, and total transactions amounted to circa £34 billion.

NS&I Executive Director, Julian Hynd, said:

“We are delighted to announce our new working relationship with the Home Office. This is the third contract for NS&I Government Payment Services since its inception in 2011; it will result in service improvements and cost savings for the Home Office and reduce NS&I’s overall operating costs, so the contract benefits the public and taxpayers in many ways.

“Our successful work on two existing, well-embedded contracts has shown our ability to enhance the processes of payment services for other areas of Government to our clients’ customers, and to lower their costs by up to 25%.”

Colin Punton, the Immigration Commercial Director in the Home Office, said:

“National Savings and Investments made cross-government collaboration easy to do. Their open but driven and focused approach has delivered results for all the parties involved.”

NS&I has established a team to work with other government departments and agencies to identify areas where NS&I’s assets can be leveraged within government. For further information on NS&I’s Government Payment Services, visit: www.nsandi-gps.com

Notes to Editors

1. Further information on NS&I Government Payment Services can be viewed at www.nsandi-gps.com.
2. NS&I, best known for the UK’s most popular savings product Premium Bonds, is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to over 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
3. NS&I’s two existing Government Payment Services contracts are with the Court Funds Office and the Equitable Life Payment Scheme to provide payment processing and related services.
4. NS&I announced in May 2013 that Atos has been awarded an outsourcing contract to deliver its customer-facing and back office services for its retail customers and NS&I-GPS clients. Over the seven year contract, starting from 1 April 2014, it will save British taxpayers more than £400 million by increasing customer use of direct sales channels; improvements in technology and processes which deliver cost savings; and supporting the growth of NS&I’s leveraging activity.
5. NS&I first outsourced its operations to Siemens Business Services in 1999 – the company was subsequently acquired by Atos in July 2011. This outsourcing contract is estimated on a ‘like-for-like’ basis, stripping out the impact of growth and inflation, to have reduced NS&I’s core operating costs by 55% – equating to some £530 million in cost savings.