Official Payments Signs New Jersey DMV; Systems Offer Online Payments for DMV Vehicle Fleet Renewal - New Services - Department of Motor Vehicles - Brief Article

Information Superhighways Newsletter, Oct, 2001

Official Payments Corporation announced a new business award with the State of New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles. Under the agreement, Official Payments will provide a service enabling businesses to pay by credit card for commercial International Regulatory Plan (IRP) fleet vehicle registration renewal over the Internet. The new payment system is scheduled to launch on the state's Web site before the end of the year.

"Each vehicle within an IRP fleet, such as trucks or buses, must be renewed annually. Prior to this system, fleet owners had to make multiple visits to the Division of Motor Vehicles as each vehicle came up for renewal," said Tom lannotti, manager of motor carriers at the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles. "Our new electronic filing and payment systems eliminate the trip to the DMV, making the process easier for business owners, and helping to streamline our state operations."

"We are pleased with this important business development for two reasons," said Thomas R. Evans, Chairman & CEO of Official Payments. "First, the new business in New Jersey is our first DMV file-and-pay client, a new incremental market for us. Second, the data interface and registration aspect of this contract is a technology we think we can apply for opportunities with other clients," Mr. Evans added.

Annually, the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles collects approximately $75 million in fleet renewal fees on over 60,000 vehicles in over 14,000 separate accounts. On the state's Internet site, owners will be able to enter an identification number for a fleet vehicle, file and pay for the fleet vehicle's registration renewal electronically, and receive the vehicle renewal stickers via mail.

Official Payments will charge fleet owners a convenience fee for processing these credit card transactions. For example, an owner who made a renewal payment of $1,000 would find a total of $1,025 on their credit card statement: $1,000 for the renewal fee and $25 for the convenience fee. American Express, Discover Card, and MasterCard credit cards are accepted by the program. Owners using credit cards with bonus rewards programs can, depending on their card's program, earn rewards, points, and cash-back or airline frequent flyer miles for paying their taxes.