THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702050142
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: K3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: 35 lines
DMV has a new touch-tone renewal feature that enables customers to renew their vehicle registrations in less than five minutes by using a touch-tone phone and credit card.
DMV began accepting most major credit and debit cards in late December. Although other states accept credit and debit cards, Virginia's DMV is the only one to accept credit and debit cards for all transactions.
A DMV employee swipes the card through a credit card reader. If the credit card is denied, the DMV employee then asks the customer to provide an alternate form of payment, such as another credit card, check or cash.
Customers who opt to renew their vehicle registration via the touch-tone system must dial 1-888-337-4782. The call is free, and can be made 24 hours a day. More than one vehicle can be renewed during a single call. Customers who pay by credit card are not charged a processing fee.
Credit and debit cards can be used for other transactions, such as obtaining copies of driving and vehicle records, and complying with orders of suspension.
Accepted credit cards include American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa.
The agency expects at least 12 percent of its customers to pay for their transactions with a credit or debit card by July 1997. About 10 percent of vehicle owners will renew their vehicle registrations by telephone.
Touch-tone telephone registration renewals and credit card acceptance are just two more features in the agency's portfolio of services for the 21st century. Others include computerized testing for the driver's licensing examination, electronic queuing systems in DMV customer service centers and the agency's new web site.