Bereaved families in Australia now have a new tool to help ease the administrative burden of closing and transferring bills after a loved one’s death. BillWill, a pioneering startup, offers a simplified solution using open banking technology.
Inheriting a loved one’s possessions is a natural part of life, but what about their bills? Australians now have a new tool to handle this often-overlooked burden with the launch of BillWill. This innovative startup tackles the administrative nightmare of closing and transferring bills after a death, offering peace of mind for both the deceased and their loved ones. After death, BillWill communicates with billing providers to complete transfers or account closures quickly and with minimal effort for those left behind.
To date, no effective pre-death estate planning solution for bills and subscriptions exists, leaving executors or next of kin with 50+ hours of administrative burden including finding all of their loved one’s bills, trying to decide what to do with each, engaging with companies, proving their identity and authority to act on behalf of the estate, credit checks and more. Research conducted by BillWill founder, Colin Jowell while studying at the London School of Economics found 70% of Australians are concerned by the admin created by the bills and accounts they will leave behind, with 1 in 3 Australians stating they are very concerned*.
These startling insights helped inspire BillWill and inform its mission to simplify deceased estate processes, reducing uncertainty and stress for the bereaved during a time of grief. Using Open Banking technology, an opt-in system that streamlines finding and collating a user’s bills by allowing data to be shared securely between banks and ACCC accredited providers, BillWill ensures each customer’s billing situation is automatically updated as their bills and subscriptions change. Open Banking data is collected under the Consumer Data Right, government legislation that allows all Australians to have more control over their own data, and all data is held and managed using the highest security standards in Australia.
“Traditional estate planning does not cover billing and subscription accounts, leaving behind an administrative nightmare that can go on for weeks – even years – for the people you love,” said Colin Jowell, Founder of BillWill. “Following the death of my father, a single bill took months to shut, with many requests ‘to speak to the account holder.’ Every hurdle added to the trauma and distress we were already struggling with. Dad would not have wanted this for our family and so it’s my hope that no other family should have to experience this again.”
“Open Banking transforms how consumers interact with their financial services, providing them with the ability to control who can access it, when, and for what purpose. We’re thrilled to work with BillWill to bring open banking technology to estate planning in an innovative and user-centric way,” said Gareth Gumbley, Founder and CEO at Obie Tech.
BillWill is compatible with every Australian biller including telcos, insurers and utilities on launch. BillWill costs $45 per year to keep active, with a one-time $149 setup fee. No fees are charged upon or after death and users can update their preferences at any time. Lauren, beta user in Sydney said: “I am a mum who manages the bulk of our family’s life admin, including our banking, bills and all the services. As someone who has been victim of identity theft, I don’t feel comfortable writing down passwords anywhere or keeping them saved digitally. This would make it difficult for my husband to cancel or transfer any of our bills should I pass away, especially seeing as he also wouldn’t know which companies to contact.
BillWill offers an easy solution to ensure my family doesn’t need to jump through hoops at a time when it is the last thing that they would want to do. It took less than 10 minutes to set up and now I can rest assured that I have easily taken a potential stress away from my family.” BillWill empowers financial planners, accountants and lawyers to better serve the needs of their clients with a unique, purpose-built estate planning solution that helps deepen client relationships and build connections to estate beneficiaries.
“BillWill is an initiative that I see potential for, not only for users and their families but also for professional service providers. BillWill may solve a deceased estate administration pain point that otherwise often involves a disproportionate amount of time, stress, effort and money. I am supportive of any initiative like BillWill that has the potential to assist executors and the families of deceased clients in making probate and the estate administration a smoother experience,” said Matt Smith, Executive Lawyer – Wills and Estates, Long Saad Woodbridge Lawyers Sydney.
Users can learn more and sign up for BillWill on its website: https://billwill.com.au/
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