BY Aye Yamone

YANGONITES will be able to pay Yangon City Development Committee’s (YCDC) taxes by mobile phone from 1 October. The mobile payment system for taxes was launched at a ceremony held on 12 September at the Yangon City Hall.

The mobile payment system was introduced with the aim of facilitating the payment of YCDC taxes. It uses Yangon City Bank’s (YCB) payment gateway, which has been set up in cooperation with the KBZ, AYA, and CB banks.

“The collection of tax is very important to allocate the budget for the development of the city. People have complained to us, asking for a more convenient system for paying taxes. So, the YCDC has established the mobile payment system. Now, the YCB is planning to provide a convenient payment service to the people, in cooperation with the KBZ, AYA, and CB banks,” said U Phyo Min Thein, the Chief Minister of Yangon Region.

“The payment of taxes plays an important role in making the YCDC a success. So, it is needed to hold the launching ceremony on a broad scale so that people are aware of the process of paying taxes online,” he said.

Yangonites using KBZ, AYA, and CB banks will soon be able to pay taxes such as the municipal land tax, property tax, general tax, and kitchen and sewage tax through a mobile application wallet.

“The new YCDC bills function gives customers flexibility and the assurance of safe and secure payments, and the option has been added to our QuickPay function, which allows payments to over 90 companies, organizations, and universities. We are trying to continue shaping the future of cashless bill payments,” said U Soe Ko Ko, the head of agent banking at KBZpay.

“With full receipt of taxes, better urban services can be extended and provided, such as the installation of GPS systems on garbage collection vehicles and construction of a waste-to-energy plant. In addition, rubbish bins and public toilets can be also be maintained as part of public services,” according to YCDC.

Currently, the YCDC is using taxes collected from the public to upgrade the city to make it beautiful and clean.

The committee is also planning to launch other applications to provide better services to the public, if the mobile payment system succeeds.

 Translated by Hay Mar