Can Municipalities Become Banks And Payment Processors?

Everyone has to pay and pay.

The local council is the beneficiary of all sorts of payments from residents. Parking, rates, fines, permits etc. Rather than use several third parties to gather all these payments could councils become payment system providers?

Would you prefer to sign up with your local council once - to make a payment anytime for parking anywhere in the UK? Or any payment to any council in the UK?

If the payment system were mobile and required no infrastructure, perhaps the local merchants could accept it too? Does the council run a transport service with ticketing which could be replaced with mobile ticketing without new infrastructure? Library membership without cards, permits without paper? Vastly improved security in public places?

If it reduced costs for the council, local business and residents - would it be embraced?

Could municipalities and councils also get into the community banking business? Governments do.

A better transaction system with no ID theft, no credit card fraud and probably less mugging on the high street?

What is in it for residents? Lower costs, better quality of life, better services and perhaps no parking meters for a start.