PayIt lands ‘the Lou’ as a client for mobile payments
November 17, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Government tech startup PayIt is working with the second-largest city in Missouri.
The Kansas City-based company is now providing its mobile payment technology to the City of St. Louis, allowing its more than 300,000 residents to more easily pay property taxes via an app. Timing was apt for the partnership, as St. Louis’ property taxes began arriving in the mail about one week ago.
A city official said St. Louis tapped PayIt to offer residents more options to pay taxes.
“Taxes are never easy to pay,” St. Louis collector of revenue Gregory Daly said, according to St. Louis’ Fox 2. “We’re trying to make it as easy as possible.”
The PayIt app is free, however, there’s a fee to make payments.
PayIt burst onto the Kansas City startup scene in early January 2016 after it registered a $4.5 million capital raise. Led by CEO John Thomson, the company now has more than 20 employees that work to revolutionize how citizens financially interact with government agencies.
The company has grown from easing the initial pain-point of working with start departments of motor vehicles to streamlining services for other government agencies, including those that manage permitting, taxes, licenses, citations and more.
Left to right: PayIt co-founders Mike Plunkett, John Thomson and Ryan Townsend
The PayIt service offers city, county, state and federal government agencies a personalized platform on which citizens can create a profile to simplify payments and interaction. The platform, for example, can notify a user when a vehicle’s tag must be renewed and then allows payment via phone or computer, increasing engagement and cutting down on physical wait time. The platform also provides analytics information to government agencies on how citizens tap the platform.
Unlike many software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, PayIt provides its platform to government agencies for free upfront. The company takes a small cut of the agency’s transaction fees, reducing its annual costs.
In July, PayIt won a national pitch competition as part of the annual United States Conference of Mayors, beating out dozens of other firms around the nation.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Selling ‘the infinite commodity’: Farmobile leverages blockchain to build secure data store
With more than a million acres of field data amassed by Farmobile, farmers now need an exchange to securely connect them with buyers of the digital machine and agronomic information they’ve harvested, said Jason Tatge. A newly opened Farmobile DataStore, which leverages elements of blockchain technology fueled by Intel Sawtooth and Amazon Web Services to…
Rif Raf Giraffe plays matchmaker for buildings, money and artists in Crossroads
Jason Harrington sees opportunity in places often overlooked – alleys, elevator shafts and the sides of brick buildings. For the artist better known as Rif Raf Giraffe, they’re vast canvasses, waiting to be filled with gallons and gallons of paint and passion. Harrington recently traversed the East Crossroads Arts District in search of more real…
Black & Veatch delivers first consumer product ever: Solarhood
After more than 100 years in business, engineering giant Black & Veatch has launched its first consumer product: Solarhood. Built through the B&V Growth Accelerator program, the company created Solarhood to streamline the process for homeowners to tap solar power. The Solarhood mobile and web-based app allow homeowners to access the feasibility of going solar,…
Two KC EdTech startups earn spots in latest LEANLAB cohort; launch set for August
It’s a highly selective process to join the fifth LEANLAB K-12 fellowship, said Katie Boody, but two Kansas City startups made the cut. K12 Perform and Base Academy of Music will join four other cohort members — hailing from the Midwest to Washington D.C. — in the August-to-November EdTech accelerator program. LEANLAB is partnering…