Touchscreen Kiosks Let New Yorkers Pay Bills

New York City is making it easier for its citizens to pay a variety of government fees, fines and taxes. Under New York’s City Access program, residents of the Big Apple can now walk right up to one of 25 touchscreen kiosks located throughout the city’s five boroughs and render to Caesar by credit or debit card.

The system is being operated for the City of New York by MetroNet Communications, a subsidiary of North Communications.

The kiosks, which look like an automated teller machine (ATM), are directly online to the City’s computer systems for secure, up-to-date and precise information, Paul Kennedy, president of North Comunications said. By touching the screens, which speak in both English and Spanish, "virtually anyone can complete a complex transaction with a quick swipe of a credit or debit card," he said.

Through the kiosks, New York City residents can pay parking tickets, real estate taxes, and obtain forms for civil service exams. New Yorkers also will be able to pay violations fines and scale fees to the Department of Consumer Affairs in the next few months, Kennedy said.

According to Kennedy, "the alternative is to pay by check through the mail, or go to a City office and stand in line, where card payments are not accepted."

Financial processing at the kiosk is made possible through MetroNet’s technical and financial alliances with PNC Merchant Services and Transaction Network Plus, Inc.

The five participating agencies in MetroNet’s kiosk network are the Department of Finance, Housing Preservation and Development, the New York Housing Authority, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and the Department of Consumer Affairs. The project is spearheaded by the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and sponsored by the Office of the Mayor.

"We see CityAccess as the start of the People’s Internet in New York," Kennedy said. "Under the hood, this is a very sophisticated electronic commerce program, but to the person on the street it looks simple and inviting, like a TV that you touch. Most important, it makes sound business sense; the City gets the information it needs to update its computers from the person at the kiosk, which greatly reduces administrative and paper-handling costs. Taxes, fines and fees are more easily paid, and instantly collected, all electronically."

In addition to the five core City agencies, MetroNet is providing information about elected officials, City Hall, public libraries, and getting around the city. Advertising opportunities also will be available on the 25 touchscreens, Kennedy said, which are located in high-traffic areas like Penn Station, the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, Queens Center Mall, public libraries, check cashing centers and grocery stores.

MetroNet was founded in 1992 by North Communications, to develop touchscreen kiosk networks for New York, Kennedy said. The company also has deployed touchscreen networks in California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Utah, Washington, Australia, Singapore, Canada, and for the Social Security Administration, and holds a contract to supply kiosks to the United States Postal Service. An affiliate of Metromedia Company, controlled by John Kluge, is the majority shareholder of North Communications.

Additional touchscreen kiosk information is available at http://www.info-north.com or http://www.kioskstore.com on the World Wide Web.

(Contact: Rick Rommel, North Communications, 310-577-7700 x7326; e-mail rrommel@infonorth.com)