New research from Paym, the UK’s mobile payments service, has found that one-third (33%) of stag and hen do organisers were not paid on time by party participants attending pre-wedding celebrations, with the average amount owed at almost £250.
Long gone are the days when stag and hen parties involved a night at the local pub with a bag of chips for dinner. Nowadays stag and hen dos can take a whole weekend to celebrate. In the past year, almost 1 in 5 (18%) people partied in Europe. For the rest, London was the most popular single UK destination for both stages (11%) and hens (5%).
As destinations have become more ambitious, the stag and hen do shopping list has become longer including items such as travel, accommodation, day and night activities, and last but not least, themed outfits. It comes as no surprise in that case that the average cost of a stag do per person is £140 with the average cost for a hen party coming in slightly more at £146… a lot of money if you’re having to pursue multiple partygoers for payment!
The average cost of a stag and hen do per person, by region:
- East and West Midlands – £151
- North West of England – £150
- South East and East of England – £149
- Greater London / North East of England / Scotland – £141
- Wales and West of England – £127
Chasing stag and hen party members for money is often a thankless task, especially once the fun’s over, but according to Paym’s survey, this may all depend on where you live. Guests from Scotland were least likely to pay on time for activity costs, whilst those from Greater London took the top spot for reliability when paying on time.
Who performs best for paying on time for stag and hen parties:
- Greater London – 78%
- North East of England / Yorkshire / Humberside – 73%
- North West of England / South East and East of England – 68%
- East and West Midlands – 51%
- Wales and West of England – 50%
- Scotland – 44%
It’s no coincidence therefore that stag and hen party revellers from Greater London were also found to have the greatest awareness of Paym (36%), the simple and secure way of making or receiving a payment using just a mobile number. Paym is already included in fifteen banks and building societies’ apps, so there’s nothing new to download to be able to use a phone number to pay straight from one bank account to another, and there’s no need for any sort codes or account numbers.
So one more important addition to the organiser’s ‘pre-do’ checklist is to make sure you’ve registered your mobile number with your bank to enable party participants to pay via Paym. You never know, next time you might just receive 100% of payments on time. To register now, go to: Paym.co.uk.
Craig Tillotson, Executive Chairman of Paym, said:
“Hen and stag parties have become a firm fixture of pre-wedding celebrations, and the pressure is on for organisers to please brides and grooms-to-be. Costs can mount, especially for those arranging travel and activities. But with mobile banking more popular than ever, there’s little reason why organisers should have to chase for payment from stag and hen party participants.
Paym enables more than 20 million customers of fifteen banks and building societies who use mobile banking to securely and quickly pay back friends, families and small businesses using just their mobile number.”
As a subtle reminder to stag and hen do revellers, Paym has launched a video showing how it can make or break a late payer’s pre-wedding celebration experience.