Abstract
Much has been written about the “Digital Divide” where less affluent citizens are (or will be) left out of current or new technologies due to availability factors and the increasing cost of participation. Relatively little has been written about one important aspect of the Digital Divide that relates to the transformation of the electronic payment receipt process, and how participation in many online e-payment processes requires the use of a credit card or debit card. The nature of these transactions has the effect of excluding citizens who primarily use cash and/or personal bank checks from participation. This directly impacts not only the digital divide but also the return on investment of these e-payment solutions to the government entity providing them. The City of Denton, Texas has worked to address this “technomic” divide by developing equitability in payment options by replacing package enabled re-engineering with enterprise architecture as the planning approach for service delivery.
Journal of Enterprise Architecture