Service NSW to improve payment services

The NSW government will roll out a platform by the year’s end that will support PayPal and new payment types such as MasterPass, VisaCheckout, and Apple Pay when it becomes available in Australia.

Service NSW has begun building a whole-of-government Payment Services Platform and has engaged Sydney company, Azuron, to begin initial work on the project, NSW minister for finance, service and property, Dominic Perrottet said on Tuesday.

“The solution will reduce duplication of payments infrastructure, streamline payment processes, and deliver value for money, Perrottet said.

The platform will eventually be made available to all NSW government agencies, reducing multiple payment systems and streamlining the receipt of monies to cut down further bureaucratic red tape, he said.

Perrottet said NSW residents are still having to deal with out-of-date payment methods when transacting with government agencies.

“While consumers and businesses are embracing new forms of payment, many public sector agencies are stuck in the past, limited by old infrastructure,” he said.

“It’s time for government to support our citizens in paying the way they want to – and that’s using new payment methods online or on mobile devices.

“Over the next 12 months, Service NSW will draw on leading payment technologies to deliver the building blocks of the solution to integrate with existing government systems,” he said.

Perrottet said reforming the current system will considerably improve the way the NSW government does business.

“This will help keep costs down across all agencies and opens the door for more innovation in consolidating, standardising and digitising the multiple billing platforms that exist across government,” he said.

Service NSW offers around 800 government transactions through digital services, an around-the-clock phone service, and on-stop shops.