If you’ve recently moved to Georgia – or are considering moving in the near future – you may be wondering how to pay your local utilities. We’ve got you covered!
The process here is surprisingly simple! There are 2 main ways to pay utilities in Georgia. One is by using a public “paybox” machine, and the second is by using an online/mobile bank app. We’ll walk you through both options in more detail below.
Using a Paybox
You will see payboxes almost everywhere in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, and other major cities around Georgia. Often they are located near bus and metro stops, at the entrances of banks, or other busy pedestrian areas. You will also notice that payboxes come in different colors: blue for a TBC paybox, orange for a Bank of Georgia paybox, and other color combinations for general payboxes.
When using the machine, the first step is to select your language preference (usually located in one of the upper hand corners) in order to be able to navigate the menu in a language suitable for you. Once you do this, follow the general instructions below:
- Press the “utilities” section of the menu.
- There will be several options: gas, electricity, water, garbage, etc. You have to choose the service and the provider you specifically want to pay for.
- The paybox will ask you to enter your user number.
- Once you have entered the correct information, it will show you the amount that you need be pay, in order to obtain the utility service.
- After tapping “next” you’ll be able to insert money.
- The final step is to confirm the payment. Once you do this, you should see a message confirming that you made the payment. Most payboxes will give you the option to print this receipt.
Keep in mind that paybox machines often add a transaction fee, which is usually around 0.5 – 1 GEL.
Using an Online/Mobile Bank App
The easiest and most common way to pay your utilities in Georgia is by using an online/mobile bank app. Keep in mind that the interface design for apps will periodically update from time to time, so yours might not look exactly like the tutorial we’ve shared below.
Bank of Georgia
If you have the Bank of Georgia app, then after you log in you should click the “transactions” option.
Next, you’ll see several options. You should select the one that says “Payment”, after which you will find yourself in a new menu. Here, you should select the “Utilities” option, as shown below.
From here, the menu will show you 4 different kinds of utilities. These options are electricity (with two providers), and water, gas, and cleaning (all with several providers). The next step is to select the specific utility you want to pay for and click that option.
Next, you’ll have to enter the user number and payment amount in the empty fields.
Once entered, the app will show you the amount that you need to be pay. You can then proceed with paying this bill directly from your app. Once completed, you should see a confirmation that you paid the utility bill. You can repeat this process for each of the utilities you need to pay.
TBC Bank
The process is similar through the TBC bank app. Once you log in, you should select the “Pay a bill” option from the main menu. After the first time you enter your utility accounts, you can save them as templates so that your current balance should show up automatically. In order to pay, select the utility, enter the amount you wish to pay, then confirm the payment. You should see a confirmation that your utility bill has been paid. You can repeat this process for each of the utilities you need to pay.
Once again, the interfaces of these apps sometimes change with occasional updates, but the general process should remain the same.
Additionally, if you use the web browser version of your banking app to make payments, the process should be essentially the same.
