May 14, 2007

Travel - Duty Free Kiosks

Paying duty for items purchased overseas just got easier thanks to four self-service kiosk machines now located in the LF Wade International Airport's Customs arrival hall. In Bermuda.

The Royal Gazette
Easing the burden of paying duty

By Tari Trott

Minister of Finance Paula Cox yesterday unveiled the kiosks, which are the result of a collaboration between the Bank of Bermuda HSBC, HM Customs and the Ministry of Finance.

They offer arriving visitors and locals another method of paying duty and reduce the number of people that must stand in line to pay through the Customs' cashiers.

All machines give instructions on use through touch-screen options and one kiosk is designed for those restricted to wheelchairs.

"The enhanced kiosks will enable electronic payment of Customs duty via all major credit cards and allow travellers to access a screen that mirrors the Customs declaration forms," said Ms Cox.

Customers are able to swipe their machine-readable passport and enter the dollar value of their declarations for automatic calculation of taxes and in different currencies.

Once the credit card signature is provided, users can review their claim and print out a receipt.

Ms Cox added: "This is another positive step for E-Government and it's the outcome of a successful and productive collaboration between the Government and the private sector...

"All of the logistics have been worked out and I'm pleased to report, the process is working well."

Michael Collins, Bank of Bermuda's chief operating officer, said it took many months to develop the unique software for the machines.

"In partnership with the Ministry of Finance and Customs, we have developed a system that will serve all arriving customers and is a significant enhancement of the current payment methods," Mr. Collins said.

"We believe arriving passengers will benefit greatly from a service that is unlike any other, locally and regionally."

Posted by staff at May 14, 2007 03:34 PM