Loading...
10.b1 Staff Report - On-line Payments Staff Report Date of Meeting: October 17, 2023 For: Mayor and City Council From: Colleen Firkus, Treasurer Subject: On-line Payments In 2020 the City of Scandia initiated an On-line Payment system with Payment Service Network (PSN). The system is integrated with the city’s Utility Billing System (UBS) so that account balances are refreshed when we upload a file and we can also receive/download payment information to save time on entering the payments into UBS. Initial Setup fee was $200. Monthly fees were $4.95 per month for 2 years, then increased to $39.95 per month in 202 2. There is also an annual $89 PCI Security Compliance Fee. Earlier this year, PSN has been struggling with a bank collapse causing a disruption in service and customer service has taken a nose dive. There are frequent system interruptions for which we get notices. I am currently working on getting one of our utility accounts “reactivated” even though it was never inactive on our part, and I’m still waiting on a call-back from PSN. Banyon Data Systems (BDS), our supplier for Utility Billing, Fund Accounting and Payroll systems, has made us aware of another option for electronic payments called Nuvei, which acquired Paya. They are fully integrated with BDS and offer all the options available through PSN. What impressed me with the demonstration I viewed was their Admin Portal which was very user friendly and provided features not available on the PSN platform such as customer contact and assisting customers with their accounts. They also offer multi-lingual options. Switching to Nuvei will also save the city $449 per year and provide a lower fee to our users. Provider PCI Compliance Fee Monthly Portal Fee Payment Fee ACH Payment Fee Check PSN $89.00/yr $39.95 3.00% $1.10 Nuvei $9.95/mo $ 0 2.75% $1.10 Recommendation: I recommend the City approve a contract with Nuvei to provide on-line payment platform.