Citizens can now pay online for services offered by four agencies 

To improve public service delivery especially those that were constrained due to the lack of e-payment facility, the Government to Citizen (G2C) e-payment services was launched in Thimphu yesterday.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay launched the e-payment facility for Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (BCSEA), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) and Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Except for RSTA services, citizens can go online to the G2C website at www.citizenservices.gov.bt to make e-payments. For instance they can pay for a new passport or renewal through the G2C website by entering their CID number, bank account number and also upload additional forms. E-payment for the nine RSTA services such as paying renewal fees for driving licenses or penalty can be done through the RSTA www.rsta.gov.bt website.

Payment can be made from any of the three banks of Bank of Bhutan, Bhutan National Bank and Druk Punjab National Bank through the Royal Monetary Authority payment gateway.  G2C officials explained that the e-payment services are an independent web service and are not integrated with Bank of Bhutan’s mBoB facility.

Launching the service, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said that e-payment allows citizens to enjoy services quickly and almost immediately without having to go to an office. “Once you are able to pay for those services, it means that you really don’t need to visit the offices even to make cash payments,” he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of e-payment and G2C services as a stepping-stone in the country’s journey to become self-reliant and corruption free. “The most important benefit of G2C services, the use of e-payment is the fact that we tell ourselves that we must step up technologically to the next level,” he said. “We must use the best technologies that are available and must demand of our service providers and of ourselves the highest level of efficiency and transparency.”

There are more than 120 G2C services. Of these, e-payment facility is available for four BCSEA services such as issuance of duplicate examination documents, clerical recheck of papers and issue of English Language Proficiency Certificate.

G2C officials said that while e-payment for passport services under the foreign ministry is available to apply for new passport and renewal, those who wish to avail travel documents and passports for children should visit the passport office in person for verification.

All business services with the economic affairs ministry where payment is required can now be paid electronically. A two months trial of the e-payment system showed that RSTA services generated the highest revenue among the agencies followed by the department of trade.

Karma Cheki

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