Friday, July 16, 1999
State proposes paying fees via Internet, plastic
Fifth Third Bancorp would get contract
BY ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Need a fishing license? Pick up the phone. Resigned to paying your state taxes? Fire up the computer.
Ohio announced a proposal Thursday that ultimately would allow residents to pay a variety of state fees electronically.
“Every major bank in this state can do this,” state Treasurer Joseph Deters said. “There's no reason why the state of Ohio can't.”
The state Deposit Board voted Thursday to negotiate a contract with Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnati to provide processing services necessary to allow credit and debit card payments.
The board consists of Mr. De ters, state Auditor Jim Petro and Attorney General Betty Montgomery.
Three agencies are participating in a pilot program testing electronic payments: the Ohio Secretary of State's Office, the Accountancy Board and the Commerce Department.
By year's end, Ohioans using debit or credit cards could pay for election filing fees, liquor licenses, certified public accountants' licenses and building permits.
Eventually, consumers could use their cards to pay state income taxes, buy hunting or fishing licenses, and renew their license plates.
Fifteen other states accept credit cards for some fees or licenses, Mr. Deters' office said.
Mr. Deters, who introduced an electronic payment system as clerk of courts for Hamilton County in 1991, expects the system to lead to a slimmer treasurer's office.
“We've got dozens of people opening mail every day, processing checks,” Mr. Deters said. “It's a very man-hour-intensive process that needs to be pared down.”
The Department of Taxation plans to permit electronic payment of state income taxes by the 2001 filing season, spokeswoman Julie Carpenter said Thursday.
“Most people like to file electronically because they get their refund back faster,” she said. “Time will tell how beneficial this will be — whether they'll file faster or still wait until the 15th to pay.”
Electronic payment will allow Ohio businesses to incorporate online, reducing the process from eight weeks to “a matter of hours,” said secretary of state spokesman Carlo LoParo.
Mr. Deters' announcement comes as consumer debt continues to rise. Nationally, personal bankruptcies reached a record 1.4 million last year. A February study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the mean credit card balance rose to about $1,700 from about $1,100 in 1989.
As long as Ohioans use the state's new system for purposes of efficiency, the proposal makes sense, said Nancy Deevers, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northeastern Ohio Inc.
“If you can't afford it with cash, you can't afford it with credit,” Ms. Deevers said. “If you're making it affordable to yourself with credit, you're heading in the wrong direction.”
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