State-run energy utility Electricité du Cambodge (EdC) has asked banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to stop using third-party services to collect payment of customer electricity fees, local media reported yesterday.

In a statement, EdC said it had signed partnership agreements with a number of financial institutions to be agents for accepting electricity bill payments, but some banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) were in breach of the agreement as they were outsourcing the fee collection to third-party service providers.