Sri Lanka’s Postal Department has reportedly suffered a significant revenue loss due to the introduction of the GovPay payment gateway for traffic fines.
According to the Postal Trade Unions Front (UPTUF), the new digital service has eliminated the income generated by the Postal Department from such payments.
The trade union points out that this shift from post office-based fine payments results in the Postal Department losing between Rs. 600 million and Rs. 800 million in annual revenue.
The Postal Trade Unions Front reveals that this new digital payment for traffic fines was introduced when the Postal Department had already introduced a new SMS notification system for individuals paying police fines at post offices.
Stating that this system was proposed to be developed to notify the respective traffic police officer and the individual who paid the fine via SMS, the trade union claimed that it was not implemented due to a lack of response from the Police Department.
The trade union revealed it was not opposed to the use of technology and urged the government to launch the SMS fine system designed by the Postal Department, warning that a revenue loss could directly impact the Treasury.
As the GovPay online traffic fine payment system has been introduced as a pilot programme, the trade union urged the government to revise and integrate its SMS fine system. (Newswire)