People who pay property taxes or vehicle fees to the Denton County Tax Assessor-Collector by card would see a slightly lower fee starting Dec. 1 under a new payment processing deal going to the Commissioners Court on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Tax Assessor-Collector Dawn Waye placed two related items on the agenda. The first would give notice ending the county's agreements with Certified Payments Inc., which has processed tax office card and electronic check payments since the court approved its contracts on July 20, 2010. A 2011 amendment added card payments at tax office counters. The termination would take effect Nov. 30.
The second item would approve an agreement with Government Window LLC to take over starting Dec. 1. It covers payments made in person, online and by automated phone line, whether by credit card, debit card or eCheck.
What changes for customers
The county's payment methods page lists the current convenience fees as 2.10% for credit cards and 1.5% for debit cards, each with a $2 minimum, and no fee for eChecks.
Under the proposed contract, Government Window could charge 2.05% with a $1 minimum on credit card and signature debit card payments, and 1.5% with a $1 minimum on PIN debit payments. It could not charge any fee on eCheck payments.
That means the credit card rate would drop by five hundredths of a percentage point. On a $5,000 payment, by our math, the fee would go from $105 to $102.50. Debit cards run as signature transactions would fall under the same 2.05% rate as credit cards; the county's current fee list does not separate the two kinds of debit.
The convenience fees are the only money Government Window could collect under the agreement, and the county would pay the company nothing, according to the tax assessor-collector's memo. The memo says card processing fees are paid by the customer.
