Now the system of payments for utilities www.payments.5ci.lt is being created.

Modern technologies are constantly changing the way people live. Now one may get all needed information even without going somewhere outside, buy and sell goods and services, talk to his friends who lives in another part of the world for the hours, not only hear his voice but also see him at the screen. JSC “Penki kontinentai” began specializing in information and e-commerce systems creation several years ago. These systems are being created in order to give Lithuania residents an opportunity to find needed information very quickly, to orient in the town, to manage social and financial matters. In the recent times the regard is mostly paid to information services and payments systems. City information services www.5ci.lt/vilnius and www.inyourpocket.lt where there are virtual city maps may help not only the tourists, but also to the local inhabitants to orient better in the town, to find the needed object, to get basic information about something. Besides, on the virtual map even the town’s regions with their pictures may be shown. For example, users of “Skynet” network can see the allocation of their houses and theirs pictures in the website of JSC “Skyneta” – here the plan of the houses connected to this network and of those ones which are going to be connected to it is given. In addition to the searching for information there are other things that exhaust the citizens, such as social and financial matters for instance. Modern technologies can simplify this process very much. Programs, which could let pay for various expenses through the cash dispensers and personal computers, for the parking, are already under construction. Now payments’ for utilities system www.payments.5ci.lt is being created. With the help of this system users will be able to pay for various utilities they use: electricity, telephone, water, gas, etc. Furthermore, this system will help to calculate the expenses, keep the expenses records in graphical representation. About this system we’ve talked to Gedas Gudavichius, JSC “Penki kontinentai” programmer. - What have pushed you to creation of this project? - Nobody in Lithuania tried to create anything like this, I mean to unite all the payments for utilities in one system. There are several analogical programs, but they are local, they are operating in the users’ computers. We want to create fully valued system that could operate through the Internet. This system is expected to have its advantages: there would be no necessity in keeping data in your computer, would be no necessity to renew tariffs on the services, and it would be much more easier to reach the data of utilities suppliers. - What are the objectives of the new project? - The main goal of this project is to make the way people pay for utilities more convenient. A lot of people would like to pay for utilities and other services through the internet sitting at home, not to run from one place to another with the different kinds of paper in hands. - Is not this too risky to launch such kind of a system? - I don’t think so. All protection means will be applied: transferred and kept data will be encoded, electronic signatures will be used, etc. - Today little people have their own computers at home. So is this system really needed? - Certainly yes. Information technologies market in Lithuania as in the whole world is spreading vigorously. And though we lag behind number of computers in the future will surely increase. Together with this demand for such type of services will grow. - At what users is the system oriented? - The system is oriented at modern people, at Internet users who want convenience and are not afraid of the novelties. - What are the advantages of this system? Won’t it be harmful concerning money? And perhaps tax on a money transfer will be taken? - The user will be given a very convenient mean to watch his expenses and to settle accounts. In the future it is planned that every user will have a possibility to see how much he is owe for a certain service, how much money he’s got on his account. Having such information available they would be able to pay for the services at once. I don’t think tax on transactions will be very high. Now there is no any fixed payment. - Could this system change the way people are served? - Yes, by all means. If this system becomes popular we can claim that this is a new step in the field of service. - Do you feel responsible for this system? - It’s natural when a person feels responsible for everything he does. So do I. - Thank you for conversation.