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Mon State Parliament Moves Toward Paperless Billing

canlender15/05/2019

AUTHOR: ZIN THU TUN

Mon State’s Parliament approved a motion on May 6 urging the government to shift away from using paper for utility bills as the foundation for their payment system, and instead, utilizing an online payment method along with a mobile app.

U Aung Kyaw Thu — the law maker from No. 2 Constituency of Thaton Township, Mon State who submitted the proposal — said that the proposal was intended to resolve certain issues that are inherent with a hard copy system. The problems that can arise when using hard copies are things like an inadequate number of employees to handle all the customers in a timely fashion, bad customer service, misunderstanding between customers and staff, time wasted traveling to and from the utility office as well as waiting in line.

Using a digital system will certainly speed things up for customers, but it will also help the environment. Using a paperless system will also save trees from being cut down to be used for paper, and there will be less air pollution from paper production.

The only downside to using a digital system is not having a physical reminder when it’s time to pay your bill. Without a paper copy to act as a reminder, each customer will have to make sure to monitor their email, notifications on a mobile app, or set an alert on their calendar.

The Department of Electricity Supply in Mon State, in collaboration with MCC Computer Company Limited, launched a door to door payment service with K200 service fees; but it was stopped on April 1 this year because only 20 percent of the total of 196,500 electricity users in Mon State are using the service.

“Before submitting the motion, I studied mobile billing services employed by some international organizations and the Yangon Region,” said U Aung Kyaw Thu.

The proposal was approved after three lawmakers seconded with no objection from other lawmakers.