By: Steve Mann
If you pay your city utility bill by credit card, Mayor Ramon Yepez says you will soon begin paying a “convenience fee” to defray the transaction costs. Yepez says the city currently pays about $1.2 million in credit card processing fees. But there are alternatives. “Customers who wish to avoid this fee may continue to use alternative payment methods—such as cash, check, or bank transfer, which will remain available at no additional cost,” says Yepez. The city started accepting payments online via credit cards about 14 years ago when the fees were mostly incidental. The mayor says this is a common practice among municipalities and businesses to help offset the processing costs associated with credit card transactions.




