Will County Treasurer Tim Brophy briefed the committee on electronic payment options for property taxes and other county receipts and urged residents to use ACH/eCheck to avoid a negotiated 2.28% credit-card processing fee. Brophy said the county's current vendor charges 2.28% for card payments and that funds paid by card go to the card processor, not the county. "The credit card rate we negotiate is at 2.28%. So that payment would have cost them about $700 in fees," Brophy said of an example $30,000 tax bill.
Brophy said the county offers an eCheck (ACH) option that requires customers to enter a bank routing and account number; if users can complete ACH before the due date, the county honors that date for timeliness. He explained why consumer peer-to-peer services and card-on-file wallets are not viable for typical tax payments: many have low per-transaction limits (Venmo/Zelle) or do not collect the full payer contact information needed to research payment disputes. "Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay's structures don't do that. Their structures'and so we would be," Brophy said.
Board members raised practical issues: limits on debit card or peer-to-peer transfers, the ability of customers to call their banks to release debit-hold limits, and whether ACH could be provided without fees. Brophy said some processors have provided ACH at no fee as a negotiated service and that other treasurer offices do charge for ACH. He also said debit and credit card transactions are often indistinguishable to processors, which complicates charging different fees.
Treasurer Brophy said the county tries to negotiate the lowest card and ACH fees and periodically rebids the contract; he encouraged taxpayers to use eCheck/ACH for large tax bills and to have mortgage companies pay taxes directly where possible. Board members with payment-industry experience said the 2.28% rate is competitive.
No formal action was taken; the treasurer's office said it will continue to evaluate payment options and competitive vendor bids and bring proposals back to the board if substantive changes are available.