Decision details

(1) That charges be introduced on payments made corporately via credit card with effect from 1^st April 2016, with authority delegated to the Director of Finance to vary the rate from an initial rate of 2.25%.

(2) That, in principle, charges be introduced on credit card payments made via the Parking and Adult Education systems, with the final decision delegated to the relevant Chief Officers following a cost/benefit appraisal.  

Around £1.1m per annum of the Council’s income is received from credit cards, and credit card commission charges are levied on these payments. It is proposed that a charge of 2.25% of the transaction value is introduced on all payments made to the Council’s corporate system via credit card to reflect the commission charges, and to allow Council Tax and Business Rates to be paid by credit card. As the commission rates and the mix of cards used may change it is proposed to delegate to the Director of Finance the authority to make changes to the rate charged. Further work is required around implementing credit card charges for Parking and Adult Education, so it is proposed that final decisions are delegated to the service Directors. The savings achieved will help to offset increases in costs.