Integrated ticket payment system launched

SCT, a leading vendor of e-government and self-service applications, this

week launched eTraffic.sct, a service designed to give courts the ability

to establish a 24-hour, end-to-end system for parking and traffic tickets.

"A lot of online payment systems are not end-to-end. They provide a convenience

for citizens, but [they aren't] integrated with the court's infrastructure,"

said Moira Rowley, general manager of SCT's Global Government Solutions.

SCT, Malvern, Pa., will build a Web and phone function that allows courts

to accept any payments, most likely parking and traffic tickets. After the

customer makes the online payment, eTraffic.sct will complete all back-end

transactions for the court system, such as docketing, case and charge disposition,

pleas, sentencing, financial transactions, reconciliation and auditing of

payments.

"It allows courts to gain tremendous productivity in an area where the work — although it is a high volume — is very routine," Rowley said. "It frees

court staff to focus on other tasks, like working with constituents."

If payments are made online — as opposed to on the phone — the system enables

people to print automatic receipts to provide proof that their payments

have been received and processed by the due date.

Solano County, Calif., and Missouri's Administrative Office of the Courts

have signed letters of intent to implement the system. The cost for the

system has not been determined yet, but Rowley said the company is working

on two models: one in which payment is made completely upfront, and one

that charges less upfront but uses convenience fees to pay the balance.

About 700 state and local governments, courts and public agencies use SCT

software and services.