In January, 2011, the City of Saco began accepting both debit and credit cards as a form of payment for any transaction conducted in person at City Hall. All major cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover, are accepted.

Since this new service began, we have had plenty of feedback, both pro and con, on the service. So, we thought it was worth revisiting in this issue of the newsletter.

Many of you do not understand why there is an additional fee associated with the use of a credit or debit card. In the past, the city accepted debit cards and absorbed the per transaction fee of $.10 (yes, ten cents!). It was cheaper for the city to pay that fee than to handle a check or cash payment multiple times: twice by the clerk, and then for verification of a valid transaction and finally in preparation for deposit by the bank by the supervisor.

Last year, the fee the city was charged for accepting debit cards was changed by the banks. That cost increased from a flat fee to a percent of the transaction, just like the fee that is charged for accepting a credit card. The expense for accepting debit cards went from a few hundred dollars a month to a thousand per month. That cost was not a good use of taxpayers' money.

In the meantime last fall, state law changed to allow municipalities to accept debit or credit cards in face to face transactions (so, at the counter) and to pass the bank processing fee on to the customer provided the bank fee is charged by a third party (and not the city) and is presented as a separate charge. Prior to that, cities and towns could only accept credit or debit cards if the municipality incurred the fees, as Saco did with debit cards.

So, instead of continuing to incur the debit fees, Saco opted to offer both debit and credit cards and to pass the fee on to the user as allowed by law. That way, the people who chose to use a debit or credit card for payment also pay the cost, instead of the entire community underwriting that expense.

The separate bank processing fee is 2.5%, or a $1 minimum charge, on all card transactions, both credit and debit. This fee is a standard banking fee associated with such card transactions and is not collected by the city.

Conducting a transaction with a card as payment takes a bit longer to complete, but, on the other hand, once that payment is done, the city does not have to handle the money any further. So, the system for payments in place now is as equitable for all as possible.

With this new payment method up and running, customers coming to City Hall now have four payment options: to pay by a credit or debit card, as well as by check or by cash. The choice is yours! We hope that citizens who prefer paying by card can take advantage of this new service -- part of our ongoing effort "to enhance our community through exceptional service."

If you have any questions about this or any other service we offer, please call Stephanie at 282-1032.