Enabling Online Payment of Bills for All Utility Services in Sarajevo Canton

The establishment and implementation of a unified online bill payment system for all utility services is an intention of the Ministry of Communal Economy and Infrastructure of Sarajevo Canton. This was stated by the relevant minister, Senad Hasanpahić, who added that this is one of the ways to improve the business operations of companies and services for citizens in the coming period, the Sarajevo Canton Government announced, reports the Patria News Agency.

The advantages of online payments were discussed after a presentation titled "Unified System for Electronic Invoices" organized by this ministry for the directors and representatives of cantonal public utility companies.

-Our intention was to hear the opinions of the company leaders on the possibilities of implementing such a system, as well as their experiences with certain services that are already charged in this way. The establishment and implementation of a unified electronic payment system does not require significant investment, and the Ministry is prepared to financially support the procurement and installation of the necessary software for this purpose, said Minister Hasanpahić. According to him, the new system would offer users the possibility of faster bill payments, it is financially more cost-effective for utility companies due to avoiding printing and distribution costs of bills, and its advantages are also reflected in the fact that it will enable a reduction in the number of non-payers and lawsuits for unpaid utility bills.

Amel Husić from the company Alfa Soflab, which develops financial information systems, explained that the idea is for citizens to receive all utility bills through internet banking and then pay them easily on any electronic device.

The director of the Cantonal Public Company Rad, Selim Babić, said that the company has been offering this payment option to its users for five years and believes it is a quality step forward for both service users, who can pay quickly and easily without queues at counters, and for utility companies that can achieve significant savings. However, as he pointed out, a large number of citizens do not have the habit of paying bills electronically because they do not trust this payment method, which is why more needs to be done to promote this type of service.

The director of Sarajevogas, Nihada Glamoč, shares the same opinion, emphasizing that this company has intensified its outreach to its service users to encourage them to use the electronic payment service more. In the last six months, since the software was developed, about 500 users of this company's services have agreed to receive their bills via email instead of by post.

As highlighted, the implementation of the unified electronic payment system will begin once the technical possibilities for realizing this type of service are fully established, and the necessary financial resources are determined. The process will also be accompanied by appropriate legal solutions, according to the announcement.