Chloe Payne was absolutely fantastic
Chloe Payne was absolutely fantastic, super helpful, knowledgeable and delivered a perfect outcome. 100% Fantastic experience Further APS' UK Custom…
Payment solutions for unitary authorities. Payments that power progress.
Managing income across consolidated services is not the same challenge as running a standard local authority. When data is spread across inherited systems from multiple predecessor councils, visibility is easily lost. Access PaySuite gives unitary authorities the payment solutions they need to bring every income stream into one clear picture, in real time.
The UK’s preferred payments partner, trusted by 45% of unitary authorities
One platform for every income stream you inherited
Unitary authorities manage income across consolidated services, legacy systems, and inherited data is not a standard finance challenge. When visibility breaks down, planning becomes reactive and reconciliation consumes headcount. Access PaySuite brings every income stream into one platform, with real-time reporting and automated reconciliation built for the way unitary finance teams actually work.
AI-powered payments for unitaries
Reduce your costs
Access PaySuite offers highly competitive rates and complete transparency on costs. Shropshire saved £320,000 with our platform, while Income Management Evo could add £32.5k annual efficiency gains through automated workflows.
Streamline payment processes
Consolidating systems into a single platform achieves efficient workflows and real-time data synchronisation. With Copilot in Income Management Evo, staff ask questions in plain English for instant insights.
Bolster security and compliance
Unitaries handle much larger volumes of sensitive data than standard LAs. Our secure, modernised system meets evolving PCI DSS regulations, now with world-first ISO/IEC 42001 AI certification.
Transform with AI efficiency
Income Management Evo could save up to 206 FTE days annually through intelligent automation. Income managers report: "It feels like someone is processing exceptions for you."
Trusted by businesses across the UK
Excellent
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Excellent service
Not only is this platform a great tool and very straightforward to use the support we have received during the onboarding process has been excellent.…
Bianca was really helpful
Bianca was really helpful
Excellent Customer Service
We were in a bit of a pickle, to finding ourselves off the ball from a company governance perspective. Nothing was too much trouble and Bianca reall…
Bianca has gone up and above what is…
Bianca has gone up and above what is expected from customer services. Over the last few days she has given training and resolved issues to take me to…
One platform for every income stream.
Take control of your income management.
One platform for every income stream.
Take control of your income management.
What to look for in payment solutions for unitary authorities
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What matters to unitary councils |
Access PaySuite |
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How fast do I see income across all consolidated services? |
Live reporting across all payment channels and service areas in real time, not end of day, across every inherited income stream. |
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How many fewer FTE does reconciliation take across multiple predecessor systems? |
206 FTE days saved annually through intelligent automation. Smart Exceptions resolves payment exceptions at import; what took hours across multiple systems is handled automatically. |
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How much more do I collect and what is the financial impact? |
Shropshire Council saved £320,000. £32.5k annual efficiency gains through automated workflows. |
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Can the platform handle multiple legacy data formats from predecessor councils? |
Smart Capture accepts remittance files in any format; parses, maps, and validates automatically, regardless of source system. Somerset unified five legacy systems in four months. |
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Integration with existing finance systems including Microsoft Dynamics 365 |
Connects with your existing systems including Microsoft Dynamics 365; no rip-and-replace required. |
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Compliant with PCI DSS and public sector security requirements |
PCI DSS compliant, ISO/IEC 27002 security controls, ISO/IEC 42001 AI certification. |
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Multichannel payments for local government; card, Direct Debit, Open Banking, digital wallets |
All payment methods supported in one platform. |
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Implementation that does not consume IT resource during consolidation |
19-week average implementation vs 57+ weeks with traditional providers. Full data migration and training support included. |
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A provider with unitary authority experience |
The preferred payments partner, with over 45% of UK unitary authorities choosing Access PaySuite. |
Income Management Evo. Built for the complexity of unitary service delivery
How UK unitary authorities got income management right from day one
When Somerset Council became a new unitary authority, it faced the challenge of consolidating multiple payment systems, suppliers, and contracts on a fixed deadline. With Access PaySuite, Somerset transitioned to a single, streamlined platform that integrates with Microsoft Dynamics 365, automates reconciliation, and delivers a better experience for staff and citizens alike, unifying five legacy systems in four months.
When Shropshire Council set out to modernise its income management, it was carrying the weight of outdated manual processes, high transaction costs, and a payment infrastructure that was slowing its teams down. With Access PaySuite, Shropshire replaced its legacy systems with an automated payment infrastructure, eliminating over 900 hours of manual effort and delivering more than £320,000 in cost savings, with SmartMobile payment terminals now expanding from Registrars into leisure centres, libraries, and museums, and Open Banking adoption projected to reduce transaction fees by a further 30%.
When Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council was formed through local government reorganisation, it became the 12th largest local authority in the UK, serving around 400,000 residents, and inherited three different payment systems that needed to keep running from day one while a transition to a single platform was planned. Working through a structured programme of discovery, solution design, and mentoring, Access PaySuite supported BCP to consolidate three inherited systems into one unified platform, with the configuration flexibility to reduce third-party dependency and the training to make many changes independently.
What sets this team apart is their track record of success. Already providing payment solutions to three former district councils, they had received rave reviews from these existing users. With such positive feedback, Northumberland County Council knew they were making the right choice.
All your payment solutions in one place
Frequently asked questions
How can Access PaySuite support unitary authorities with council payments?
Access PaySuite is designed specifically for the complexity of unitary authority income management, bringing together payment collection, automated reconciliation, and real-time reporting across multiple services and income streams in one platform. We currently support over 45% of UK unitary authorities. Unitary authorities managing income from multiple predecessor councils can consolidate fragmented data, automate exception handling, and give finance teams a single, live view of income across the whole authority.
What makes Access PaySuite different from other payment platforms for unitary councils?
Access PaySuite combines payment collection, automated reconciliation, and real-time income reporting in a single platform built specifically for the public sector. For unitary councils, the key differentiators are Smart Capture, which accepts remittance files in any format from any predecessor system and Smart Exceptions, which resolves payment exceptions automatically at import. The platform integrates with existing finance systems including Microsoft Dynamics 365, supports all payment methods citizens use, and has been implemented by over 45% of UK unitary authorities.
Are Access PaySuite's government payment solutions compliant with UK legislation?
Access PaySuite is fully PCI DSS compliant and designed to meet the security and compliance requirements of the public sector. The platform holds ISO/IEC 27002 security controls and ISO/IEC 42001 AI certification, the first of its kind in the sector. Access PaySuite is FCA regulated and a G-Cloud approved supplier, meeting the procurement requirements of unitary authorities and local government. All citizen payment data is protected using advanced encryption and tokenisation.
Do you offer support for councils transitioning from legacy systems?
Yes. Smart Capture is specifically designed to handle the multi-format data challenge that comes with unitary consolidation. It accepts remittance files in any format from any source system; parsing, mapping, and validating the data automatically, regardless of which legacy system it came from. Implementation takes an average of 19 weeks compared to 57+ weeks with traditional providers.
Can citizens in unitary authorities pay in multiple ways?
Yes. Access PaySuite supports all the payment methods citizens use; card payments, Direct Debit, Open Banking, Apple Pay, and Google Pay across all service areas in one platform. Citizens can pay online, by phone, in person, or by Direct Debit, and all payments flow into the same income management system regardless of channel. This is particularly important for unitary authorities where citizens may be paying for services that were previously managed by separate predecessor councils.