How resident communications can solve the digital adoption gap

This blog post is a part of a dedicated resident communications series, featuring insights from PayIt’s Director of Adoption Marketing, Nick Copelin and real examples of successful communication from PayIt clients.

When state and local governments make digital the easy choice, great things happen: efficiency skyrockets, automation becomes more effective, and staff can pivot their focus from manual processing to projects that were otherwise sidelined.

Our recent research showed that 90+% digital adoption rates are possible, as a majority of residents are not opposed to paying a bill or renewing a permit online — and in fact, many of them already do. The way to convert the residents who haven’t or don’t regularly use a digital government service is by making the service easy to find, easy to trust, and easy enough to use that they come back again and again.

Why residents stay offline

In our 2026 Digital Government Adoption Index, 21.5% of respondents reported transacting through an offline channel. When we asked these residents why they skipped the online option, three answers led the pack: 16.6% cited concerns about data security, 15.2% said the process was too complicated or they had a bad experience previously, and 7.2% simply did not know paying online was an option.

Each of these problems are things an agency can act on directly, leveraging resident communications and marketing to help overcome the challenges and reduce friction to digital adoption.

Getting residents online: Earning trust

Concerns about security are the biggest single barrier, especially considering what a resident is typically being asked to do to complete a digital government transaction: hand over sensitive info like a bank account number, driver’s license info, or a signature, to a website they might be visiting for the first time, with potential high stakes if their obligation isn’t fulfilled or transaction completed.

You could argue that paper checks and snail mail pose higher risk than online options, but that doesn’t help build overall trust with residents. Instead, it’s important to signal through messaging and visuals that the online service is an official agency channel, and highlight the measures and protections in place that make that channel secure.

That starts with basics: consistent branding and messaging across the website, the confirmation emails, and the payment page itself, so nothing feels like a hand-off to an unfamiliar company or scammer. It also means owning look-alike and misspelled domains before someone else does, and being upfront on the landing page about what security measures are in place rather than assuming residents will take that on faith.

The single biggest recommendation we make to our clients for this issue is to consistently refer to the service as “the official way to xyz for your county/city/state.” This is important to have across all channels, especially clearly indicated on the website, on social media, and on the service landing page.

Getting residents online: Simplifying the experience

A difficult or confusing online experience is close behind security as a reason residents skip digital channels, and it is the single biggest driver of the 36% of residents who started a government task online and had to stop and finish it another way. That abandonment number alone serves as a warning sign for any agency that considers digital transformation “done” once a service is technically online.

The work to create a simple, user-friendly experience that brings residents back time and time again goes far beyond messaging, but some communications tactics can help. Use plain language rather than complex or obscure government terminology as much as possible, with instructions and FAQs about the service and the online channel easy to locate and understand. And throughout the transaction process, build in clear signals when something has gone right or wrong.

Getting residents online: Closing the awareness gap

Only 7.2% of offline residents said they simply did not know an online option existed, but that is still a meaningful chunk of people an agency could reach with almost no product changes at all, just better promotion. Our research found residents most often discover digital services through internet search, their paper bill, and the agency’s own website, which means the channels agencies already own do more of the work than paid advertising does.

Agencies can easily see digital adoption grow when they make sure residents hear about a digital service more than once, in more than one place. This could be a redesigned bill insert with a QR code to the service, a clear callout on the agency’s homepage, or organic social posts. Multi-channel promotion is a must: Our data shows residents cited an average of 1.76 channels when asked how they found a service, so reaching most of your residents takes more than a single announcement.

And beyond outright awareness the service exists, there sometimes is confusion among customers about fees and where they show up. Some residents may not know what ACH means, or think they avoid credit card fees by paying over the phone or in person, so communicating that information clearly reduces friction to transacting through the online service.

The path to 90%+ adoption starts with great communication

Set aside the residents who say they strongly prefer offline channels, and the math gets encouraging fast. Among residents who have not transacted digitally, 35.9% say they are likely to try it next time, and another 30% are undecided rather than opposed.

Closing that gap requires treating trust, ease of use, and awareness as an ongoing effort rather than a one-time launch task, and investing in great resident communications can reduce friction and achieve new digital adoption rates.

Learn more about high-impact resident communications in our definitive guide.