News

License plate self-renewal kiosk gains popularity in Michigan

April 5, 2007

LANSING, Michigan — The State of Michigan announced the number of customers choosing self-service stations to renew their license plate tabs has more than doubled in the second year since Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land first announced them in March 2005, confirming their popularity with motorists.

The stations, which are similar to cash machines, logged almost 30,000 transactions and $3 million in revenue in their first 12 months. Since then, the stations have become even more popular, racking up more than 75,000 transactions totaling $7.5 million in revenue in the second year. Since their inception, there have been more than 105,000 transactions and $10.6 million in revenue.

The self-service stations are powered byEsprida. The Esprida remote management software allows Michigan to monitor and manage all of the stations from a central location, to improve availability and provide dependable service to consumers through a network of stations across the state. Michigan built the self-service stations on the Esprida platform to speed development time, use standard technologies and leverage remote management capabilities for both the user interface and components – card readers, thermal and receipt printers.

"The Michigan DMV project demonstrates the value of our technology – it enables our customers to deliver reliable service wherever and whenever needed," says Anila Jobanputra, president of Esprida Corporation and member of the Self-Service and Kiosk Association Advisory Board.

The stand-alone stations feature simple touchscreen instructions, dispense new license tabs in just moments and accept the Discover credit card and Visa- and MasterCard-branded debit and credit cards. Customers simply scan the bar code on a renewal notice with their correct name, address, vehicle information and personal identification number before paying.

Customers still can renew their tabs online, by phone or mail, or from a branch office customer service representative.