GATCHALIAN
Paying taxes and other government fees through the mobile phone? Soon, residents of Valenzuela City could be doing just that.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently selected the city to pilot its Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money (SIMM) project aimed at making financial transactions with the local government easier to settle.
Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Eric Postel and Mission Director Gloria Steele on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding that would pave the way for the implementation and promotion of the use of mobile money for paying government services in the city.
“This partnership pursues our governments’ shared goal of sustaining the country’s inclusive development under the US-Philippines Partnership for Growth initiative,” Postel said in a statement.
Mobile money services allow users to pay bills, buy items or services and transact money through their cell phones. Local service operators have services such as G-Cash (Globe Telecom) and Smart Money (Smart Communications) which allow users to deposit cash on their cell-phone accounts to spend on transactions.
Under the agreement, USAID will provide technical assistance, research, assistance in regulatory and policy issues, and training materials for the project. The Valenzuela City government is expected to promote and encourage the use of mobile money in local government transactions.
The city is expected to allow mobile money transactions for payment of real property tax, business permits and license fees, public market and stall retail fees, and public terminal and parking fees.
By the time the two-year project is finished, the city government is also expected to use mobile money for its payroll system and for paying services such as utilities.
USAID noted that only about half of Filipinos with cell phones use mobile money and mobile banking services. The project aims to increase the number of cell-phone subscribers using these services and educate them on the advantages offered by these systems to make household financial management easier.
On the part of the Valenzuela government, the project is expected to help cut administrative costs, increase transparency, reduce potential leakage of public funds and make city services more accessible to residents.