CCP 04-26-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ /],\~HILLS MEMORANDUM . DATE: April 21, 2004 Agenda Item 3.F TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Murtuza Siddiqui, Finance Director/Treasurer SUBJECT: Credit Card Acceptance BACKGROUND: Currently, the City of Arden Hills does not accept credit card payments for its services. Services that can be paid by credit card include permit fees, licenses, utility payments, fmes, sports recreation registration, etc. Over the past year, the City has received a number of inquiries from the residents and contractors encouraging us to accept credit card payments. At the April 19, 2004 Council Work Session, staff made a presentation outlining the process as well as the cost involved in the implementation of the system. . DISCUSSION: Credit cards are accepted by most cities in the metro area, but the type of services they accept payments for vary from city to city. There are two methods of accepting credit card payments. The first method is the Over the Counter method where a card is either swiped through a credit card machine or the information is manually inputted when it is provided over the telephone or through some other means. The second method of accepting credit card is on-line. Implementation ofthe credit card acceptance is a two step or phase project. Based on the discussion at the April 19, 2004 Council Work Session, the Phase II or on-line acceptance will be deferred to the next year. Phase I (Over the Counter Method) The first method as outlined above is fairly straight forward to implement. There is a one time set up fee of approximately $800. However, there is an on-going per transaction fee associated . with the usage. Each time a credit card payment is accepted, a service fee is charged by the credit