Title
A Resolution establishing a user fee for all payment cards.
Body
Recommended Action: Adopt the resolution.
In 2001, the Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution that would allow credit or debit cards to be used for property tax payments. Providing this payment option gives citizens flexibility and convenience to make tax payments and may result in fewer delinquencies. For these transactions, Sedgwick County is charged merchant service fees by the vendors who process the credit card transactions (Visa, Mastercard, Discover). Over the years, Sedgwick County paid the fees as “the cost of doing business.”
In 2012, the Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution that established a 2% convenience fee on all tax payments made with a credit card and a flat fee of $3.95 convenience fee on all tax transactions using debit cards. These fees were established based on information at the time that the County incurred a flat merchant service fee for debit cards and a percentage of the total transaction for credit card transactions.
In reality every payment card transaction the County processes is processed as a credit card transaction and the County pays the percentage fee. This is due to the fact that the County does not accept PIN debit transaction. Debit cards can be processed two ways, PIN debit or signature debit. PIN debit transactions charge the merchant a flat fee, while signature debit charges a percentage of the total transactions like credit card transactions.
In 2016, Sedgwick County processed 35,512 card transactions at 28 locations, collecting $14,270,684. This represents taxes and fees collected in person and online by various agencies across the County organizaton. As stated, every card transaction processed by Sedgwick County is processed as a credit card transaction and costs the County approximately 1.7% per transaction. The percentage varies based on the card and if the card is a rewards card, pre-paid card...
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