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Montepaschi Group said Wednesday it has introduced a service that enables consumers to pay fines and taxes using the Italy-based bank's ATMs. Consumers can use the machines to pay funds owed to the Rome City Council. Consumers who have Pagobancomat debit cards can use the service by selecting options on an ATM's menu of services, the bank says. For now, consumers can pay local property taxes and fines, but the bank hopes to add school fees and other taxes to the list of payment options. Consumers paying their taxes using the ATMs must enter a payment code included in a letter from the city council and pay a service charge of 1.48 euros (US$1.93). The bank offers the tax-payment option at 200 ATMs and says in a statement that some 2,200 machines will offer the service by the end of the year. A bank spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. The launch comes as other financial institutions in other parts of the world move to offer similar services. Governments seeking greater efficiency in tax collection and banks seeking more revenue and visibility are backing such efforts. "Allowing cardholders to pay through the ATM allows banks to do two things at the same time," Adil Moussa, an analyst with United States-based Aite Group, tells CardLine Global. Banks can "offer a distinguishing feature that their competitors don't offer, making it, therefore, an acquisition-and-retention factor, [and] get a residual from the fees associated with the electronic payment," Moussa says. "Depending on which network the transaction is initiated, banks can see an increased fee income from these transactions."
