Steven Jackson
Friday, March 13, 2009

Paymaster now offers payment of property taxes and traffic tickets through its 155-branch network for those who want to avoid the tax office.

MARKS… customers will be charged J$200 for the service
The company launched the service yesterday stating that customers will be charged J$200 for the service. Paymaster charges J$30 for other bill payments, but chief executive officer of Paymaster Audrey Marks explained that “there is a cost for convenience”.

“This is an introductory fee, but I will look at the take-up and decide on a (final) fee,” Marks told media and stakeholders at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston yesterday.

Currently, the service is offered in 28 branches spanning all parishes, but it will extend to all 155 branches within weeks.

For over a year, persons could have paid these bills and taxes online based on a US$23- million Inter-Development Bank loan in 2003 which funded the government’s drive to offer these services. Ironically, access was limited due to the technology divide. Only about 20 per cent of Jamaicans have internet access and even less at five per cent have credit cards (which is needed for payment) noted Dr Maurice McNaughton, Paymaster chief information officer.

“We think that the integration of our physical processing via our branch network of these electronic channels is important because it gives the citizen added choice,” McNaughton explained about the Paymaster product. “If I don’t like online or I don’t understand it and I want to walk into a place and use real money to access those new electronic channels, I can do so.”

MONTAGUE… we also have a role to play in supporting initiatives such as this as tax compliance can only be honed by ease of payment.
More e-payments to come from Paymaster

The service is enabled through the Jamaica Tax Portal Online Payment facility, developed by Fiscal Services Limited for the Tax Administration Department. Paymaster hopes to shortly offer payment of other electronic government services such as general consumption tax, special consumption tax, betting and liquor taxes.

The government has endorsed the service stating that it would allow greater access to online services and induce increased tax compliance.

“We also have a role to play in supporting initiatives such as this as tax compliance can only be honed by ease of payment, the availability of making the payment and implementation of an effective compliance mechanism, and Paymaster is playing its part,” stated Robert Montaque, minister of state in the office of the prime minister at the launch.

“I am particularly pleased about this as there is a direct correlation between increased tax compliance and our ability to implement our local government initiatives.”
Ordinary Jamaicans will benefit from the service, he said, as the number of tax collectorates are few.

“This is the kind of creativity that we want to see from our private sector, as it is the customer that ultimately benefits in this case. Paymaster has not only created an interface with the Jamaican taxpayer for an online payment facility, but it is bringing technology closer to the customer by expanding access from their locations islandwide. Ordinary Jamaicans will benefit from the service and be able to pay their taxes in a timely manner,” said Montaque.