How personalized text messages increased fine repayments by 30%

The Courts Service and the Cabinet Office’s Behavioral Insights Team in the UK tested how nudges, in the form of text messages, can encourage people to pay their overdue court fines. They tested four types of text interventions: a standard message, a standard message with the amount due, a message with the recipient’s name, and a message with the recipient name and amount due. All texts successfully increased the likelihood of fine payment, with the text specifying the name, but not the amount being the most successful. The Courts Service estimated that sending personalized text reminders could reduce the need for up to 150,000 bailiff interventions annually.