A new partnership will allow residents to use their cash and vouchers to top up their energy credit at thousands of locations across the country.

Paypoint says its collaboration with data and insights company Switchee will streamline the process of providing support to residents who have been identified as being at risk of fuel poverty and ensure tailored support is made available to them.

According to Switchee’s Housing Fuel Poverty Index, one in seven social homes were in the grip of fuel poverty during the coldest period of January this year.

Under the partnership, severely underheated households will be automatically flagged to housing providers, who can then reach out with personalised messages to residents via their in-home Switchee device.

Housing providers can then deliver fuel poverty energy vouchers directly to the Switchee device, meaning that residents can receive the rapid support they need without any barriers, such as having to respond to a phone call or email. Switchee has reported an 87% response rate out of the 300 households contacted so far.

Homes that fail to reach 18C (the NHS-recommended temperature from a health perspective) for more than half of the last 30 days are deemed at risk of fuel poverty – leading to an increased number of hospital admissions, an increased cost to the NHS and an increased risk of mould.

PayPoint currently has more than 28,000 national retail partners up and down the country, which will provide instant support no matter where Switchee customers are based.

Victoria Lynch, Head of Sector & Partnerships at PayPoint, said: “The innovative data-driven solution provided by Switchee is hugely valued by both social housing providers and residents who need support with their energy bills. Through this partnership, PayPoint is proud to be helping Switchee support vulnerable households through the ongoing cost of living crisis.”

Tom Robins, Switchee CEO, said: “Our partnership with PayPoint is an important step forward in our continued efforts to fight fuel poverty. Living in fuel poverty is debilitating for people 365 days of the year, not just in winter. Through our partnership with PayPoint and our direct to resident communications, we are able to cut through barriers presented by traditional communication methodologies, delivering assistance quickly to those who need it the most. I look forward to seeing more of these campaigns be deployed across the country as we continue to improve the quality of life for people living in rented homes.”