The Challenge
As the recreational navigation authority for the non-tidal River Thames, The Environment Agency, part of Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) were looking for a more efficient and all-encompassing solution to enable sales of visiting boat registrations, moorings and other services to be calculated and paid onsite at our Locks. The requirements were:
- To enable the department to meet PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standards) requirements.
- To prevent the chance of human error by digitally centralising accountancy.
- To make significant savings on time and resources by eliminating the need to reconcile and make collections at 34 remote sites.
- To have live and centralised reporting tools for annual accountancy.
“Introducing Kappture has vastly improved our ability to manage payments at our lock sites across the River Thames and has made life easier for operators and management. We have all our data in one place, informing strategic decision-making month on month. We’re delighted to be expanding our work with Kappture across other waterways throughout the country this year.”
Andy Croxford
Senior Specialist, Navigations, River Thames Operations
The solution
Following discussions around operational requirements and environmental challenges, it became clear that the Castles S1F4 Pro mobile device would provide the flexibility and reliability needed for the project. Using a configurable tariff-based interface, operators are able to quickly calculate charges, take payments onsite, and process transactions instantly through a simple and intuitive workflow.
Connectivity across several locations along the River Thames had historically presented challenges, particularly in more remote areas where traditional Wi-Fi coverage could be inconsistent. By utilising 4G connectivity, the solution ensured operators could continue processing payments reliably, even when local network infrastructure was unavailable.
The result
Today, operators across all 34 sites are able to efficiently calculate tariffs, process payments, and report on sales through the centralised management portal. The result is a more streamlined operation, improved financial visibility, reduced administrative overhead, and a significantly more efficient experience for both staff and visitors using the waterways.