The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is encouraging online payment of traffic fines because of the convenience it offers motorists.
Wayne Minnaar, JMPD chief superintendent, says many people find it convenient to pay their bills online as they don't have to stand in long queues, and such services limit the possibility of fraud and corruption.
He reveals that once the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act is enacted, motorists in the Johannesburg metro will be able to pay their issued fines at Absa branches and on the PayCity Web site.
The Aarto Act was approved by parliament in 1998 for effective processing of road traffic contraventions.
The country has seen a growing number of online services that offer traffic fine payment solutions. These include PayCity, View Fines, and Pocit, which all require motorists to have valid South African identity documents and a working cellphone number or e-mail address to register for the services.
Meanwhile, Fist National Bank (FNB), Standard Bank and Absa customers also have the option to pay their fines via the banks' mobile and Internet banking services. FNB customers can also pay using ATMs.
With PayCity (formerly known as Payfine), motorists are able to view infringement data, such as time of violation and the speed they were travelling at.
Awareness needed
However, paying using mobile phones is still a big challenge, as many people are not aware that such services exist, says Anjela da Silva, marketing and CRM director at Pocit.
This could only change if more mobile payment services are introduced and people become more comfortable using them, she notes.
“To accelerate the change, it is important to offer people services in ways that are familiar to them. This means that the one-size-fits-all approach does not work,” says Da Siva.
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