Interacting with state and local government can and should be seamless, said Monica Harrell of PayIt, a KC tech firm that partnered its statewide iKan app with Wyandotte County’s myWyco app to create enhanced access for residents.
PayIt
“It’s a more streamlined experience,” said Harrell, senior client manager for Payit, “Especially because residents are not usually familiar with state services versus those from the county or city. We want to make it as easy as possible.”
The enhanced myWyco platform features PayIt’s cloud-based technology that gives users the ability to, for example, renew their motor vehicle registration through an app, rather than waiting in line at a physical location. Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, residents have additional app features that allow them to report issues and submit requests to 311, as well as to pay property taxes, Harrell said.
“Offering high-quality digital services like myWyco provides residents secure and convenient 24/7 access to their government, while generating substantial cost savings,” said Alan Howze, Unified Government chief knowledge officer. “At a time when over 75 percent of Americans own smartphones, the Unified Government is committed to meeting people where they are and offering simple and intuitive mobile app solutions.”
PayIt — one of Startland’s Top Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2018 — is in talks with other Kansas counties to similarly expand the firm’s technology to more locally-integrated apps, Harrell said. In the meantime, the rollout of other planned features continues, she said.
“Just in the past couple of days, we went live with health and vital records, so you can request a birth, death, marriage or divorce certificate through iKan,” Harrell said, referencing the statewide app. “In the future, we’ll try to get the vital records piece into myWyco … so those residents don’t have to have two apps.”
Following iKan’s spring release, PayIt made headlines when someone misusing publicly available information was able to use the app to search for numbers and vehicle information that did not belong to them. While it wasn’t a breach or security issue, Harrell said, the company acted to eliminate the potential for such abuse.
“PayIt set up an additional field that is required in addition to a PIN when searching for a vehicle to mitigate this risk in the future,” she said. “We take security and privacy very seriously.”
The Unified Government next plans to add a service for users to pay court and citation fees through myWyco in the coming months. And now that vital records are live, the State of Kansas expects to next add driver’s license renewals to iKan.
For Wyandotte County residents, myWyco is available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store on online at https://mywyco.wycokck.org/
