State partners with company to pay bills online

Published On: Jan 22 2013 02:34:43 PM CST
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -

An Iowa tech company will soon provide a new online payment option to some state taxpayers.

Gov. Terry Branstad announced Tuesday that Des Moines-based Dwolla will be offered as a way for about 50 businesses to pay cigarette taxes. Dwolla lets users transfer money or pay for things through their smartphones or online for a flat fee of 25 cents per transaction.

State officials hope to eventually expand the number of taxes that can be paid through Dwolla. Those 50 businesses pay about $100 million in cigarette taxes annually. Currently those transactions are all done on paper.

Dwolla advertises itself as a cheaper alternative to credit card fees and other online payment methods. The company will not get any state funding for this effort.

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