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Dunn County committee adopts policy on accepting consumer credit cards, cites PCI‑DSS security rules
Summary
Committee approved a countywide policy governing how departments accept consumer credit‑card payments, centralizing terminals, requiring PCI‑DSS compliance, limiting employee possession of payer cards and renewing a third‑party processor contract with a convenience fee.
Dunn County’s Committee on Administration approved a new policy to govern how county departments accept consumer credit‑card payments, including a requirement that payment terminals and processing meet Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI‑DSS) controls and that staff who accept payments complete training.
Jenna, human resources staff, presented the policy and the recently renewed contract with the county’s third‑party processor (referred to in materials as a VPS provider). She said the policy is primarily about protecting consumers’ payment data: “Some of those guidelines is, of course, what is the best practice to make sure that we are responsible on how we secure consumers’ personal confidential information, such as their credit card information, to protect, again, our reputation as a county,” she said.
Key points approved by the committee include centralizing acceptance to a single, county‑approved processor and terminal type where possible; requiring terminals to be in secured locations or locked when not in use; limiting the number of authorized staff who may handle payment tools and requiring training for them; and a clear prohibition on staff retaining a payer’s payment card. Jenna summarized those rules: “Employees shall not handle or be in possession of the payer’s payment card. That means we can’t take it and possess it.”
The committee also discussed convenience fees and online payment options. Jenna said the county offers on‑site terminals, online payments and an 800 number for pay‑by‑phone to avoid staff collecting full card numbers. The renewed third‑party contract includes a convenience fee for consumer card payments, and staff said centralizing processors allows the county to negotiate fee structures and limit the number of distinct systems IT must secure.
Committee members asked practical questions about windowed customer service counters, locked locations and whether departments can contract their own processors. Jenna and IT staff said a single processor is preferred for consistency and security, but a limited number of departments that feed payments into specialized systems (for example, the clerk of courts) may continue with compatible processors if they comply with PCI‑DSS requirements.
The committee voted to approve the policy. The motion passed without a recorded opposition.
Ending: Staff will train authorized personnel, publish the policy and proceed with the renewed VPS contract and implementation steps outlined in the policy.
