Pretty interesting stuff. This going to be huge soon.
Over the past year, the EZ Card kiosk in place at the City of Long Beach, N.Y., Police Department, has made a big difference. It is used for "just about everything," says Lt. Bill Dodge, commanding officer/TARU unit. That includes vehicle impound releases, accident report, block party fees, recording services like copies and fingerprinting, fees for taxi licensing, he details—"everything we accept cash for, we accept through this kiosk."
Scanning his reports while speaking to this reporter, Lt. Dodge says that since January 2011 through October 17 it collected fees for 500 impounds, 1,000 accident reports, 50 block parties, and that just scratches the surface.
For this south shore of Long Island beach front community where "we tow many cars, and beachgoers don´t carry a lot of cash, the ability to accept credit cards and some debit cards makes it easier for the public to retrieve their cars," Dodge reports.
But the best part is that "it counts the cash and prepares a receipt, and we never have to touch the cash," he says. This is a huge time saver because that money sometimes has to be counted seven or eight times a day, when shifts change or when it is transferred. It also keeps track of the sequence the bills were accepted and a bill validator checks for counterfeit bills, even permitting the owner to know exactly which bills were placed in by whom and at what time.
