Effective April 1, 2025, a 2% convenience fee will be added to customer payments made to the City of Sanford using a debit or credit card.
Currently, the City pays all of the processing costs associated with credit and debit cards. As more customers opt to use debit or credit cards, the fees charged to the City by card-processing companies also increase.
While a 3.75% convenience fee would cover the full cost of processing debit or credit cards, the City has chosen to continue paying a portion of the cost. Had the City added a 2% convenience fee for the last fiscal year, it would have saved $183,476.
“The purpose of the convenience fee is to reduce the costs paid by the City to card-processing companies,” says Bethany Stephens, the City of Sanford’s Financial Services Director. “The 2% convenience fee lowers what we pay; it does not add any revenue to the City’s budget,” she notes.
Customer Payment Options
The 2% convenience fee will apply to all customer payments made to any City department, including for compost, citations, permits, and golf. The fee will be assessed whether payments are made in person, online, or by mail.
To avoid incurring the convenience fee, the City of Sanford offers these fee-free options to all customers:
- Cash
- Check
- Money order
TriRiver Water customers have the above options, as well as electronic draft and online bill pay. See the full range of TriRiver Water payment options here.
Focus on Service and Transparency
The City understands that every dollar counts for both residents and businesses. “This decision was not made lightly,” says Mayor Rebecca Salmon.
“We want everyone to clearly see why it is necessary to offset the cost of card payments,” Salmon says, “With a finite budget, we must find a balance between the rising cost of processing fees and the rising costs of providing essential services.”
The convenience fee complies with applicable state and federal regulations regarding card payment processing.
For questions or concerns, please contact the City Manager’s Office at 919-777-1112.