Pia Samantha M.

Roldan
AB Communication Arts
One government office in the Philippines lets people pay their taxes online
In terms of service in government offices, the Philippines is generally very traditional. That means a
preference for cash payments instead of online payments, despite the available means to enter the 21st
century. It often causes slow processing times and long queues. But one city government in the Philippines
is trying to change that. The local government of alen!uela "ity now lets citi!ens pay vehicle license fees,
and business and real property ta#es at city hall in new ways $ through credit and %T& cards, and via
mobile payments.
In a notice on the city's website, alen!uela "ity information officer %hna &e(ia says the system is part of a
local program to simplify ta# payments. )o the card*based payments can now be paid through the point*of*
sale +P,)- machines that the .evelopment Ban/ of the Philippines has installed in its ta#payer's lounge. It
also accepts payments from mobile payment platforms such as )mart &oney, the e*wallet service run by
telco )mart, and rival 0lobe Telecom's 0*"ash.
What does this mean?
By allowing online and electronic payments, it streamlines the process and lessens queues in government
offices.
The &a/ati "ity government office ma/es for a good comparison. )ince it still uses cash for its payroll of
over 1,222 employees, it causes downtime for the entire office.
"learly, a swipe of an %T& or credit card or a few clic/s through an m*payment gateway can ma/e things
simpler. %nd safer for people. Plus, it can help lessen under*the*table charges on cash transactions $ ie3
bribery.
Challenges vs opportunities
The Philippines leads in mobile payments in %sia, and with the availability of the telco's e*wallets, it's
something that citi!ens can ta/e advantage of with ease.
But the ban/ing penetration rate in the Philippines is at (ust 24 percent. %nd from this number, only three
percent own a credit card. )o are people ready for what alen!uela "ity is rolling out to its citi!ens5
The alen!uela "ity government also plans on e#panding the system to include payments for business
permits and license fees, public mar/et and stall retail fees, and public terminal and par/ing fees. It also
aims to use the m*payment service for its payroll system and payment of utility bills in the near future.
It is said to be the first time for a municipality to do this in the Philippines. Perhaps it will /ic/start other
local authorities to moderni!e. ,nce more cities offer this, the more efficient the country becomes. %lso,
who /nows, it might help increase usage of online payment in the Philippines for e*commerce as well.