Summary:
For years, the City has accepted credit card payments for services such as water bills, trash bills, business licenses, medical transport and a host of other transactions. The City has always absorbed the associated fees levied by the card network, the payment processor, and our online payment solution vendor. Over the last five years, these fees have cost the City a total of $3,823,037, or $764,607 per year on average.
Staff is proposing that the burden of paying credit card transaction fees be shifted from the taxpayers to those customers who choose to use cards to pay for City services. This will be accomplished by imposing a service fee on all credit card and debit card transactions to cover the full cost of these fees. The practice of shifting card fees to the cardholders is legal, subject to certain rules and limitations, and is becoming increasingly common among Valley cities. Peoria already charges a fee for those using credit and debit cards to pay for development permits.
Customers who wish to avoid this new fee and still pay for these certain City services electronically can do so through ACH electronic funds transfer. ACH electronic funds transfer offers a no-cost method to pay a City utility bill, business license, or host of other City services on a one-time or recurring basis.
The new credit card service fee will impact utility and business license customers on its scheduled effective date of January 1, 2024. Customers paying for miscellaneous accounts receivable or for services provided by Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood and Human Services, Police, Fire-Medical, and other departments will not be impacted until those areas transition to Invoice Cloud, the online payment solution vendor, at a future date.