PayGo
PayGo is a cloud-based SaaS provider of prepay billing, CIS, and payment processing solutions for electric, gas, water, and sewer utilities in North America. It serves investor-owned and public power utilities through multi-year contracts and channel partners including Landis+Gyr, Itron, and Tantalus.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersAlpharetta, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What PayGo does
PayGo (legally PayGo Utilities) is a cloud-based SaaS provider of prepay billing, customer information systems (CIS), and integrated payment processing for electric, gas, water, sewer, and lighting utilities. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, the company serves investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and public power utilities across the United States and Canada, with the combined Empower Grid Holdings entity now reaching 75+ utilities across 23 states. Its core products are PayGo Prepay (a real-time prepay solution leveraging AMI/smart meter data), PayGo Cloud CIS (a full SaaS customer information system with prepay/postpay/payment integration), and PayGo Payments (a multi-channel payment platform including debit/credit, ACH, IVR, mobile/web, and CheckOut by PayGo barcode-based cash payments at 85,000+ retail locations). The platform is built on AWS with patent-pending technologies including Real-Time Prepay, Soft-Arm remote reconnection, and Threshold Logic balance notifications.
The company generates revenue primarily through multi-year SaaS subscriptions (e.g., SRP's 10-year agreement) under both customer-pay and utility-absorb pricing models, supplemented by transaction-based payment processing fees as a registered Merchant Services Provider. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales targeting utility executives, an extensive channel partner ecosystem (Landis+Gyr, Itron, Tantalus, AT&T, AWS), and presence at industry conferences such as DistribuTECH and CS Week. In May 2024, PayGo merged with Exceleron Software to form Empower Grid Holdings, backed by Moore Strategic Ventures, Accurant International, and Avista Development, combining Exceleron's municipal utility footprint with PayGo's IOU and public power positioning under a single platform that also pursues the India prepaid smart meter opportunity through Exceleron India.
PayGo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PayGo
- Legal name
- PayGo Utilities
- Website
- https://paygoutilities.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PayGo is a cloud-based SaaS provider of prepay billing, CIS, and payment processing solutions for electric, gas, water, and sewer utilities in North America. It serves investor-owned and public power utilities through multi-year contracts and channel partners including Landis+Gyr, Itron, and Tantalus.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PayGo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Utility Billing and Payment Software
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Bank Bill Pay (Consumer & Small Business) (FSAMAJAC), Payouts, Disbursements & Mass Payments Infrastructure (FSAGABAN)
Keywords
Where PayGo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Alpharetta
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
PayGo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Platform Subscriptions: Subscription-based SaaS billing and payment platform for utilities. PayGo Cloud CIS and PayGo Prepay are delivered as cloud-based software-as-a-service solutions under multi-year service agreements (e.g., SRP's 10-year agreement)
- Payment Processing Fees: Transaction-based fees for processing customer payments including credit, debit, ACH, and cash payments. PayGo operates as a Merchant Services Provider (MSP) enabling various payment methods and retail cash payments through CheckOut by PayGo
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise Utility SaaS Platform - Custom pricing based on utility size and services required |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
PayGo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PayGo provides cloud-based SaaS billing and payment software for electric, gas, water, sewer and trash utilities, enabling prepay and postpay billing, real-time consumption monitoring, and multi-channel payment processing. Its portfolio spans PayGo Prepay, PayGo Cloud CIS, PayGo Payments, and the CheckOut by PayGo cash-payment network, sold primarily to investor-owned and public power utilities under multi-year enterprise agreements.
Product overview
PayGo is a utility billing and payment software company offering a platform of integrated solutions for electric, gas, water, and sewer utilities. The portfolio consists of three core products: PayGo Prepay (standalone prepay solution for consumption tracking and flexible payments), PayGo Cloud CIS (full SaaS customer information system with integrated billing and payment processing), and PayGo Payments (multi-channel payment processing platform). CheckOut by PayGo, a barcode-based cash payment feature, extends payment reach to over 75,000 retail locations. Following the 2024 merger with Exceleron, the company also offers MyUsage as part of the combined product suite under Empower Grid Holdings, with both brands continuing to market under their respective names.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PayGo Prepay A prepay utility billing solution that helps customers reduce consumption, pay off debt, and budget for utilities. Leverages existing smart meter infrastructure to provide real-time consumption information, automated notifications, and flexible payment options for electric, gas, and water utility customers.
- PayGo Cloud CIS A fully SaaS customer information system providing integrated postpay and prepay billing and payment processing across all utility services (electric, gas, water, sewer, trash, and lighting). Includes customer and CSR portals, extensive reporting, MDM functionality, SSO with SAML 2.0, and APIs for AMI integration.
- PayGo Payments An integrated payments platform enabling customers to pay bills or reload prepay accounts via debit/credit cards, cash, and ACH through mobile, web, IVR, and utility kiosks. Supports one-time and recurring payments with PCI-compliant tokenization, EMV chip & PIN, and mobile wallet acceptance.
- CheckOut by PayGo A digital cash payment solution using barcode technology at retail checkout lanes. Enables utility customers to pay with cash at over 75,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada, with payments posting in near real-time, processed through InComm's Cashtie network.
- MyUsage (Exceleron) Exceleron's cloud-based SaaS solution focused on prepay, consumer engagement, comprehensive consumer messaging, and integrated payments. Utilized by electric, water, and gas utilities to increase energy affordability for consumers, particularly in municipal and Indian-market deployments.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5-15% energy conservation improvement for consumers
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use PayGo
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
PayGo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
PayGo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Tantalus SystemscorePartnership agreement enabling utilities to leverage Tantalus TUNet smart grid platform data to improve customer service and offer flexible payment solutions. Combined offering integrates granular interval data with PayGo's prepay and Cloud CIS solutions to help consumers budget for electricity, water, and gas usage.
- ItroncoreStrategic partnership where PayGo powers the underlying technology for Itron Smart Pay, Itron's first SaaS prepay delivery program in North America. Partnership also includes additional prepay functionality utilizing Itron's Distributed Intelligence platform.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreAWS Select Technology Partner. PayGo's technology stack runs on AWS with applications split between two Availability Zones in US East Region for high availability using Amazon EC2 and Elastic Load Balancing.
- Landis+GyrcoreReseller agreement authorizing Landis+Gyr to provide PayGo's prepay, digital billing and payment services to their advanced metering customers. PayGo is offered as a premium prepay solution integrated with Landis+Gyr's Gridstream Connect suite.
- AT&TcoreExclusive relationship where AT&T offers prepaid smart grid applications powered by PayGo to help utilities manage energy usage and reduce costs through AT&T's network infrastructure.
- XPAND Marketing + SalesminorMarketing collaboration for consumer marketing and customer experience programs for PayGo utility clients in USA and Latin America. XPAND helps utilities communicate benefits of prepaid electricity to foster product adoption.
- ELO Sistemas ElectronicasminorPartnership to bring unique energy payment solutions to Latin America. ELO is the leading electronic metering provider in Brazil.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
PayGo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- OATI: Provider of software solutions for energy trading, transmission, distribution, and smart grid operations serving utilities. Broad incumbent with overlapping utility software capabilities including AMI and customer-side applications.
- Oracle Utilities: Enterprise Customer Information System (CIS) and billing platform used by large investor-owned utilities globally. Represents the dominant incumbent that PayGo's Cloud CIS competes against in large IOU RFPs.
- SAP for Utilities: Enterprise utility billing and CIS platform with global IOU footprint. A broader incumbent competitor whose standard billing suite overlaps with PayGo Cloud CIS functionality.
- Hansen Technologies: Provider of billing and customer care software to energy, water, and telecommunications utilities. Directly comparable CIS/billing competitor serving a similar utility customer base.
- Itron: Global leader in AMI/smart metering infrastructure that resells PayGo's Smart Pay solution. Functions as both a channel partner and a potential competitor given its adjacent AMI software portfolio.
- Landis+Gyr: Global AMI and smart grid solutions provider that resells PayGo prepay as part of its Gridstream Connect suite. Comparable as an AMI vendor with overlapping utility customer relationships and prepay ambitions.
Direct peers
- Uplight: Energy customer engagement and prepay platform serving US utilities with energy management, billing, and demand response programs. Direct overlap with PayGo's utility prepay and customer engagement offerings, particularly for IOU customers.
- Tantalus Systems: Smart grid platform provider for investor-owned, cooperative, and municipal utilities. Direct comparable as a tech integration partner and AMI data platform serving similar utility customers with flexible payment and engagement solutions.
Emerging players
- EnergyHub: Energy management and DERMS platform serving utilities with demand response, load management, and customer engagement tools. Adjacent competitor in utility customer engagement programs.
- Bidgely: AI-driven energy analytics and customer engagement platform for utilities. Overlaps with PayGo in customer engagement and consumption analytics for utility end customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PayGo social profiles
Digital presencePayGo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PayGo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
PayGo subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
PayGo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PayGo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PayGo
What does PayGo do?
PayGo provides cloud-based SaaS billing and payment software for electric, gas, water, sewer and trash utilities, enabling prepay and postpay billing, real-time consumption monitoring, and multi-channel payment processing. Its portfolio spans PayGo Prepay, PayGo Cloud CIS, PayGo Payments, and the CheckOut by PayGo cash-payment network, sold primarily to investor-owned and public power utilities under multi-year enterprise agreements.
Is PayGo a public or private company?
PayGo is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was PayGo founded?
PayGo was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is PayGo based?
PayGo is headquartered in Alpharetta, United States, in the North America region.
How does PayGo make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. SaaS Platform Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are payment Processing Fees.
Who are PayGo's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are OATI, Oracle Utilities, SAP for Utilities, Hansen Technologies, Itron and Landis+Gyr. Direct peers are Uplight and Tantalus Systems. Emerging players are EnergyHub and Bidgely.
Does PayGo have an API?
Yes. PayGo Cloud CIS includes an extensive library of APIs and web services for integration with AMI systems and middleware for meter readings, reconnects, and disconnects. The platform also supports SAML 2.0 for Single Sign On capability.
What industry is PayGo in?
PayGo's product category is Utility Billing and Payment Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAFAF, Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms, with a secondary code of FSAMAJAC, Bank Bill Pay (Consumer & Small Business). Its NAICS code is 52232 and its SIC code is 7372.