New York is one of the most aggressive states when it comes to Bitcoin. Earlier this year, Benjamin Lawsky, New York State’s Superintendent of Financial Services, proposed a BitLicense that would prevent Bitcoin from being used illegally in money laundering. The BitLicense is a way of regulating the cryptocurrency without hindering or harming the technology while it’s still in its infancy, and should also help to protect consumers who use it.

Now, New York’s Department of Finance is looking at others ways people can actually spend their Bitcoins, and one proposal is to allow traffic law violators to pay their parking fines with it. At the moment, motorists who’re slapped with parking tickets can pay them online, by mail, or in-person, but the department is looking into utilizing mobile devices to help people pay tickets faster and in a more convenient way.

“The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is issuing a Request for Information to obtain information on mobile solutions for payment and hearing scheduling for parking tickets,” reads a paper titled Mobile Solutions for Payment and Hearing Scheduling of Parking Tickets.

“Prospective vendors should understand that this RFI is not a request for proposal but rather a request for information that will assist the City in understanding A) the current market environment for mobile payment options that could provide greater ease for vehicle owners; and B) the current market for technologies that would allow someone to request a hearing and submit evidence.”

New York City issues a hefty amount of parking tickets each year – about eight to ten million parking tickets, and this allows the city’s Department of Finance to reap some $550 to $600 million in revenues. It’s evident that the city generates a huge amount of cash from parking violations, thus it wants the collection process to be more effective. Aside from Bitcoin, other mobile solutions being considered are credit card payments, ACH transfers, ApplePay and PayPal.

Suggestions? Violent reactions?

Those living in New York can help the city’s Department of Finance decide what route to take by sending their suggestions or insights before January 15, 2015 by 3PM EST. For inquiries, the deadline is January 6, 2015 at 5PM EST.

You can send your suggestions, thoughts, insights and inquiries to Solomon Israel, Senior Contracting Officer at NYC’s DoF via email at IsraelS@finance.nyc.gov.

photo credit: kdingo via photopin cc