In 2009, a new payment system, called Bitcoin, was introduced, that has nothing to do with printed money, credit cards, or banks, only involving virtual coins that can be sent through the Internet. Bitcoin was developed by an anonymous hacker going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, and it’s an open-source software that can be used by anyone who is willing to solve complex mathematical problems to create digital coins, and use them to purchase various products and services.
Currently, there is a wide array of companies that accept bitcoins as a form of payment, including some big names such as Subway, Target, Amazon, Victoria’s Secret, Suntimes.com, Tesla Motors, Kmart, Home Depot, and many more, but there are also a lot of businesses that don’t accept this payment system. However, these are all private companies, that have realized that Bitcoin has a lot of potential and could help them expand their customer base, and now the question is if government agencies will follow suit.
The DMV is one of the agencies that could benefit a lot from such a fast and simple payment method like Bitcoin. It’s a pretty cheap, straightforward way of making online transactions, and this is exactly what the DMV needs to become more efficient. Many DMVs around the country provide various services online and allow customers to do several DMV transactions over the Internet. Online transactions that are available at some DMVs include paying vehicle registration fees, driver’s license renewal fees, written and road test fees, traffic tickets and fines. Typically, credit cards are used to make online DMV transactions, which involves processing fees that are paid by the service provider.
When paying for a product or a service with digital currency, the transaction fee is much lower than the fee involved in credit card payments, which is usually 2-3% of the transaction. In some cases, there is no transaction fee, whatsoever. This could help DMVs save a lot of money, which they could then use to modernize and improve their services.
A couple of months ago, California House passed a bill that declared cryptocurrency a legal tender, bringing Bitcoin a step closer to becoming a legal form of payment. With California becoming more friendly towards Bitcoin, the California DMV could be one of the first DMVs to accept Bitcoin, which would come as no surprise at all, given that this is an agency that is always open to innovations and is willing to experiment with all sorts of potential solutions that could help enhance efficiency and improve customer satisfaction.
However, bitcoins have a long way to go before they can become lawful money, which is the most important condition that needs to be met before the state can ask businesses to accept this payment method. The bill that was passed by the Assembly will have to be signed into law by the governor, and before that, it will have to be approved by the state Senate. In any case, considering that the bitcoin community continues to expand, and the list of businesses that accept this form of payment grows ever longer, it’s safe to say that people will be able to use bitcoins to perform DMV transactions in the near future.