eliminated the cost to taxpayers associated with making eCheck
property and vehicle tax payments online.
The County's eCheck payment option originally cost residents $2 – a
fee that went directly to the County's online payment vendor. Now,
the County has negotiated a lower fee with the vendor, making it
possible for the County to absorb the cost on behalf of taxpayers.
Convenience fees for credit card transactions continue to be charged
to taxpayers.
This change benefits both residents and the County on multiple levels.
It encourages higher use of the eCheck option by making it more
convenient and affordable. Payments made online also reduce
nonsufficient fund (NSF) transactions and promotes payments of taxes
before they reach delinquency. Online payments reduce the need for
manual payment processing by County employees, thereby increasing tax
office efficiency.
The County receives more than 1 million paper checks for payment of
taxes each year. For each paper check, staff members must:
● Find the bill in the tax system
● Post the payment
● Image the check
● Endorse the check
● Deposit the check
The eCheck system eliminates these steps. For an eCheck, the County
receives an electronic file that posts automatically.
Mecklenburg County Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA),
Park & Recreation, Geospatial Information Services (GIS), Register of
Deeds and the Health Department's vital records counter are either
already absorbing credit card and/or eCheck transaction costs or are
finalizing plans to do so.
The broader movement toward no-fee online payments marks a distinct
response to residents' desire for free Web transactions. It also
acknowledges that government can be made more efficient by automating
payment functions, eliminating human errors by residents and
employees, making tax payments quicker – and more secure.
For more information, go to http://paytax.charmeck.org.
