The state of Kansas has unveiled a mobile-friendly property tax payment service to help residents skip the line at the treasurer’s office.

Kansas.gov has offered a desktop service for paying taxes since 2000, but residents can now access the site via a mobile device. The mobile Kansas Property Tax Payment service is available for more than 75 counties in the state.

“We recognize that many people appreciate having online payment services,” said Jim Hollingsworth, executive director at Information Network of Kansas. “By taking a mobile-first approach, it creates eGovernment efficiencies.

“Mobile Web/responsive design is an important aspect of eGovernment application development,” he said. “Since its launch in 2000, nearly 100,000 Kansans have been able to skip the line at their county treasurer’s office by using the desktop version of the Kansas Property Tax Payments service.

“Now, mobile users can enjoy the same convenience of paying online, with just a few taps on their smartphone or tablet.”

Mobile taxes
Kansas launched the mobile-friendly service for the 2013 property tax season. Residents can pay for first-half payments through Dec. 20, and second-half payments can be made starting January 2014.

The Kansas Property Tax Payment accepts payments made through e-check, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.

In order to pay using the mobile service, residents must have a current tax statement issued by their county treasurer’s office.

Additionally, accounts cannot have a prior year tax delinquency, they must not be in dispute or protest and funds must be drawn on a U.S. bank account.

Skipping the line
As mobile continues to enhance the quality of life, one of the great outlets for the channel is to help cut back on long lines and enable consumers to avoid waiting at all.

Having a desktop option already helped Kansas county treasurers cut down on lines, but mobile takes it one step further. Residents have the convenience of being able to pay taxes wherever and whenever they want.

They do not need to take time off of work to make the office’s hours, and they do not even need to find time at home to do it online.

In 2010, Arkansas was the first state in the U.S. to provide secure payment-processing specifically for smartphone users (see story).

A number of other apps have been introduced to help cut down on lines in other areas of life.

For instance, San Francisco’s Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square launched an app to let consumers have the ability to shop around while waiting in a virtual queue (see story).

Britain’s KFC also launched an app recently that let consumers order via mobile and go directly to an express line to pick up food. The has been seeing 90 percent of users placing orders via mobile (see story).

“Mobile innovation allows more citizens access eGovernment services,” Mr. Hollingsworth said.

“According to a September 2013 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, more than 63 percent of all cell phone owners use their mobile device to access the Internet,” he said. “And now citizens can enjoy the ease of use with the launch of the newly redesigned, mobile-friendly Kansas Property Tax Payment service.”

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York