TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute a contract with FIS, also known as Metavante Corporation and Link2Gov, to provide credit card processing services for City services for a period of three years with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
For several years, the City has accepted credit and debit card payments for certain City services including utility bills, parking citations, business licenses, ambulance transports, and marina slip fees. These credit and debit card payments may be made in person, via the Internet, by phone and through the Integrated Voice Response system. The volume of these transactions and associated banking costs has steadily risen over time and in FY 06 exceeded $550,000 against the City’s General Fund. Therefore, a transaction fee was proposed in the FY 06 budget to eliminate the City’s cost for these transactions.
As part of the City’s Financial Strategic Plan, the Department of Financial Management issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to credit card processing firms in September 2005. In November 2005, Link2Gov was awarded the contract to provide third party credit card processing services.
Link2Gov has been providing third party credit card processing services to the City for the past four years. They charge the City’s customers a transaction fee for credit card payments made by phone or via the Internet and pay associated bank fees and other expenses. The fee charged by the outside vendor to the City’s customers is $3.99 per transaction for all payments processed over the phone and via the Internet, with the exception of the $1.59 per transaction fee for parking citations. Please note that if credit card payments are made in person, the $3.99 transaction fee is not charged. Customers may also avoid the transaction fee by making payments via U.S. Mail or via Easy-Pay from their personal checking account.
In February 2009...
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