The City of Amarillo’s new online payment portal, called PayAMA, is scheduled to go live on Monday, August 7th. The city expects the new system, which will initially be used to pay for city utilities, will be much more user-friendly than the current system.

The current system has received criticisms from numerous residents, including Councilman Place 3 Tom Scherlen. “I got on the other day. My wife was having trouble paying our bill. Well, let me tell you, I had trouble paying!” said the councilman.

According to a press release, “all existing customers will need to register for PayAMA, including customers on auto-draft.” To encourage customers to sign up for paperless billing, the city is offering paperless customers a one-time $10 credit on their next utility bill.

According to a presentation made by the billing department to Amarillo City Council, the city expects to eventually expand the new payment portal to allow it to be used for most kinds of payments to the city.

The city has also stated it will work on a case-by-case basis to waive late fees for customers who have trouble signing up for the new payment portal.

A video from the city about registering for the new system is included below: