NSW Government invests in 'new payment types'

The New South Wales Government has started work on a payment system for its agencies that will support "new payment types".

NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property, Dominic Perrottet, announced yesterday that the Government had awarded a tender to IT consulting company Azuron to build a Payments Services Platform for Service NSW.

Perrottet said the system was due to be in service for transactions delivered through Service NSW by the end of the year.

He said the Government was investing in technology that would support "contemporary payment methods", such as PayPal, MasterPass, VisaCheckout and Apple Pay (when it becomes available).

He conceded that many of the State's public sector agencies were stuck in the past when it came to payments.

Service NSW was established a couple of years ago as the payment service for all government agencies. It has been progressively taking over payment functions from agencies such as the Roads and Traffic Authority and the Office of State Revenue.

It currently handles 800 government transactions through digital services.

Azuron said the Payment Services Platform would "act as an internal payment gateway that intermediates between government systems requiring payments and external payment gateway providers."