PayNearMe and Central Texas Municipal Services Bureau (MSB) Enable Tolls to Be Paid with Cash at Retailers

Customers pay with cash when and where it works best for them

PayNearMe is excited to announce a partnership with the Municipal Services Bureau (MSB) of Central Texas. This now enables millions of Texas residents and travelers to have the option to pay for tolls and transportation fees using cash at more than 27,000 locations nationwide including CVS Pharmacy, 7-Eleven and Family Dollar.

Prior to the partnership with PayNearMe, drivers who didn’t want or lacked the ability to pay transportation bills online or load accounts with credit or debit cards had two options: mail a check or money order, which typically requires 5-7 days to process, or pay in-person during regular business hours. These options are not ideal for people who use the toll roads sporadically and who don’t have TxTags, an electronic sticker that mounts on the inside of a vehicle’s windshield near the rear-view mirror.  These also don’t work for the thousands of cash-only and cash-preferred customers who regularly use the toll roads. According to the 2015 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, approximately 33.1 percent of Texas households rely on cash.

To assist cash-only and cash-preferred customers and travelers, toll statements will now include a PayNearMe payment code. Customers can then take their bills directly to any of the 28,000 nationwide locations, many of which are open 24×7, to pay with cash. The transaction takes less than a minute to complete, and accounts are credited within the hour. Customers can also use cash to add money to their electronic accounts. A low convenience fee of $1.99 will apply.

“We are delighted to work with MSB to make lives easier for those who rely on these heavily traveled roads, but that need to pay with cash,” said Mike Kaplan, SVP and GM of PayNearMe Merchant Processing. “The number of unbanked and underbanked nationwide and in Texas is higher than most people realize, and customers shouldn’t be inconvenienced for wanting to pay in cash. MSB, and PayNearMe are committed to eliminating any extra hoops associated with cash payments so that people can pay on their own time in the locations that work best for them.”