Dwolla is back in the Iowa spotlight.
Two days after the Des Moines startup dominated the pages of Iowa’s largest newspaper, it joined the state’s governor and lieutenant governor today (left) to announce a partnership that begins to make the cash-based payments network a payment option for taxpayers.
Dwolla’s first integration with the state will focus on the Iowa Department of Revenue, giving some businesses the option to pay via Dwolla, according to a company press release.
“This new method is an efficient, effective means of payment for Iowa taxpayers, and I look forward to expanding this service into additional areas within state government,” Gov. Terry Branstad said in a Dwolla press release.
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Initially, this partnership will process an estimated $130 million annually, Dwolla communications director Jordan Lampe said in a company blog post.
Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the release that today’s announcement “shows there is no geographic monopoly on innovation.”
Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, the lead investor of Dwolla’s latest round of funding, lauded the move on his blog.
“If you are looking to help startups get going in your region, one way is to become a customer of theirs and help them demonstrate the power of their technology to others,” Wilson said on his blog. “It’s great to see the State of Iowa do that with Dwolla.”
For close followers of Dwolla, the idea to put the new payments network to use in government may sound familiar as a project that did just that won the “Best Actual Business” award at Dwolla’s Old MacDonald Hackathon in December. In an email today, Lampe said the use case goes farther back than the Iowa Tax and Tags project. “But it’s very very relevant,” he said.
The Register goes in-depth on Dwolla
The Des Moines Register’s coverage Sunday of Dwolla may be the most in-depth package of stories yet on the four-year-old startup. Four articles authored by executive business editor Lynn Hicks and an infographic by graphic artist Katie Kunert, make up the spread that’s a part of the newspaper’s innovation series.
Here are links to the stories and infographic:
- “Dwolla founder bears the burden of starting a tech revolution“
- “Milne plans to keep company in Des Moines“
- “The education of Ben Milne“
- “Will Dwolla take off?“
- “The career of Dwolla’s Ben Milne” (Photos)
- “Interactive: How you can use Dwolla“
Credits: Photo from Dwolla blog.