Short answer: a good payment reminder call says who is calling, how much is due and when, then offers three keys: 1 if you have already paid, 2 to get a call back, 3 for a payment link (or to talk now). Each key updates your system automatically, so your team only calls the people who asked for help. Trigger the calls from your loan, billing or school software, in Hindi or English, inside a fixed calling window.
This post is about keypad IVR reminders. If you are considering a conversational AI caller instead, read loan reminder voicebots; the architecture of API-triggered calls is the same either way.
Who Uses Reminder Calls
- NBFCs, lenders and fintechs: EMI due reminders, early-stage overdue follow-up.
- Co-operative banks and microfinance: instalment reminders, often in Hindi or a regional language.
- Schools, colleges, coaching institutes: fee due dates, exam fee deadlines.
- Utilities, broadband, cable, societies: bill due, maintenance dues.
- Subscriptions and insurance: renewal and premium due.
In all of these, most customers intend to pay and just need a nudge. The call's job is to nudge the majority cheaply and hand the minority who need a person to your team.
Why Add Keys at All
A play-only reminder ("your EMI of ... is due on ...") has two problems. You do not know whether it worked, and customers who already paid get annoyed and call your support line to say so. Adding keys turns every answered call into a data point:
| Key | Customer means | Your system does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "I have already paid" | Mark for reconciliation, stop further reminders this cycle |
| 2 | "Call me back" | Create a callback task for the collections or accounts team |
| 3 | "Send me a payment link" | Your system sends the link by SMS or WhatsApp |
| 0 | "Let me talk now" | Transfer to your desk (only during staffed hours) |
| No key | Listened, did not respond | Count as reminded; follow your next-stage rule |
Three or four keys is the limit. More than that and customers hang up before the options end.
Call Stages
Reminder calls work best as a short sequence tied to the due date, with the tone changing slightly at each stage:
- Pre-due (a few days before): friendly heads-up. "Your EMI is due on 15 October."
- Due date: same message, morning. Offer the payment link key prominently.
- Just overdue (1 to 7 days): factual, polite, with the callback key first.
- Later overdue: move to a person. Recovery conversations need judgement, hardship handling and documentation that a keypad call cannot provide.
Stop the sequence the moment the payment is received, or when the customer presses 1. Calling someone who already paid is the fastest way to generate complaints.
Sample Scripts
English
Hello {{var.name}}, this is a reminder from {{var.company}}. Your EMI of {{var.amount_words}} rupees is due on {{var.due_date_words}}. If you have already paid, press 1. To get a call back from our team, press 2. To get a payment link on SMS, press 3.
Hindi
नमस्ते {{var.name}} जी, यह {{var.company}} की ओर से रिमाइंडर कॉल है। आपकी EMI {{var.amount_words}} रुपये, {{var.due_date_words}} को देय है। अगर आपने भुगतान कर दिया है तो 1 दबाइए। हमारी टीम से कॉल बैक के लिए 2 दबाइए। पेमेंट लिंक SMS पर पाने के लिए 3 दबाइए।
Two details that matter:
- Pass amounts and dates as words ("तीन हज़ार दो सौ पैंतालीस", "पंद्रह अक्टूबर"). Digits inside a Hindi sentence are not read reliably by every voice. The Hindi IVR guide explains why.
- Do not threaten. No "legal action", no "your account will be reported" in an automated reminder. Keep it factual and give the customer a way to reach you.
Generate a draft for your use case with the free payment reminder call script generator.
How the Flow Is Built
On Edesy, the reminder is a published IVR flow, triggered per customer by an API call from your system:
- Your system calls
POST /v1/ivr/callswith the customer's number, the flow, and variables such asname,amount_words,due_date_wordsand areference_id(your loan or invoice ID). - Say speaks the reminder with those variables filled in.
- Menu waits for 1, 2, 3 or 0.
- Key 1: an HTTP Request node posts
{"loan": "{{reference_id}}", "event": "already_paid"}to your API, then a short thank-you. - Key 2: an HTTP Request creates a callback task in your CRM; an Email node can also notify the team with the caller's number and choice.
- Key 3: an HTTP Request asks your system to send the payment link.
- Key 0: a Transfer to your collections desk.
- When the call ends, your
status_callback_urlreceives the result: answered or not, duration, and the keys pressed.
Background HTTP requests are retried automatically if your API is briefly down, so a key press is not lost. Details of the request, callback and signature are in the IVR outbound call API guide. If you prefer uploading a list over integrating an API, ask us about list-based reminder campaigns.
A note on key 0: the IVR does not yet switch routing by time of day, so a transfer rings your desk whenever it is pressed. Schedule reminder calls only when that desk is staffed, or use key 2 (callback) instead of a live transfer.
Calling Hours, Consent and Do-Not-Call
- Platform window. Calls placed through the Edesy outbound API are only dialled between 09:00 and 21:00 IST; requests outside that window are refused.
- Lender rules can be stricter. For recovery of overdue loans, RBI's August 2022 circular says recovery agents must not call borrowers before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Many lenders apply that window to all reminder calls as a safe default. That means scheduling between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
- Do-not-call. Numbers on your workspace's do-not-call list are refused before dialling. Add customers who ask not to be called.
- Service, not promotion. A reminder about an existing loan or bill is a service call. Keep marketing out of it, or it stops being one.
Check your setup with the free calling hours compliance checklist. This is general guidance, not legal advice; confirm specifics with your compliance team.
Retries Without Annoying People
- Retry no-answer and busy, not answered calls. An answered call where nobody pressed a key still delivered the message.
- Space attempts out: later the same day, then the next day. Do not redial within minutes.
- Cap attempts per stage, and stop when the stage ends.
- Use an idempotency key per customer per stage (
Idempotency-Key: loan-881-due-oct), so a retry in your own code never dials the same person twice by accident.
Measuring It
Reminder calls are easy to measure because every outcome lands in your system:
- Answer rate by time of day and stage.
- Key distribution: how many press 1 (already paid) vs 2 or 3.
- Payment within a few days of the call, compared with customers not yet called. Run your own comparison on a small batch first; do not rely on anyone's headline numbers, including ours.
What It Costs
IVR calls are charged per minute from a prepaid wallet; a reminder call with keys is usually short. Estimate your monthly spend with the IVR cost calculator and see IVR pricing.
Set Up EMI Reminder Calls
See the flow, variables and keys on the EMI reminder IVR page, or talk to us with your volume and we will help you plan the first batch.