Today, Toronto City Council authorized City staff to enter into a contractual agreement with PayIt Digital Government Inc. (PayIt) for the provision of digital services with payments.
Together, PayIt and the City of Toronto will design a digital experience and platform which will enable residents, businesses and visitors to Toronto to make payments to the City, starting this fall with property taxes, utility bills, and parking violations. Additional services will be added to the platform in later phases, including permits, licences and court fines. Users will have more payment options and be able to make payments through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), credit card or debit card.
The platform will also offer modern digital features that users expect, such as a smartphone app, digital wallet for managing payment preferences, status, notifications and e-billing. Other payment methods will continue to be maintained to ensure access is equitable, adaptive and accessible to the needs of the City’s diverse population.
The agreement with PayIt will be for a period of three years, plus options for two one-year extensions at the discretion of the City’s Chief Technology Officer. The City has calculated a return on investment of $11 million over the five-year term of the contract and has negotiated competitive fees that will only be paid to PayIt when there is user adoption.
The PayIt agreement gives the City an opportunity to enter into a cost-effective and competitive commercial relationship that allows the City to move forward with digitizing services end-to-end. The digital payment options will provide an improved customer experience to businesses and residents. For example, a typical Toronto family must currently access more than 10 separate channels and portals to manage over 20 residential services and payments throughout the year. Over time, the agreement with PayIt will facilitate the merger of those multiple channels and portals into an integrated digital experience.
The City will always offer a free, convenient and accessible payment option to customers through EFT. Users who choose to make payments via credit or debit cards will be charged a processing fee of 2.35 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively for financial transactions.
Quotes
“This is a step forward in modernizing our government and improving the customer experience for the residents we serve in a number of ways. Residents, businesses and visitors to Toronto want a simple, consistent and connected interaction with the City and this new service offering will help us deliver just that.”
– Toronto Mayor John Tory
“I’m happy to see the work and due diligence that’s been done in order to secure a digital payments processing platform for the City. By working with PayIt, we are continuing to move the City of Toronto forward into the digital age and provide an improved customer experience for residents and businesses.”
– Councillor Paul Ainslie (Scarborough-Guildwood), Chair of the General Government and Licensing Committee
“Through this new service we can now better meet people’s expectations for a modern government and create more value for residents and businesses, similar to how they interact with their banks, retailers and increasingly the public sector – simpler, more convenient and increasingly personalized.”
– Deputy Mayor Stephen Holyday (Etobicoke-Centre)
Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Media contact: Media Relations, media@toronto.ca