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Brainerd BPU approves one-year trial with Tyler Payments for credit card processing
Summary
The Brainerd Public Utilities Commission voted to contract Tyler Payments for one year to process utility credit-card transactions, after staff recommended the vendor for lower annual costs and easier IT integration. Commissioners raised concerns about per-transaction fees passed to customers and noted InvoiceCloud submitted a later revised quote.
The Brainerd Public Utilities Commission voted to adopt a one-year agreement with Tyler Payments to handle the utility’s credit-card processing, a decision staff recommended as the most cost-effective for the utility’s annual fees and IT integration.
Finance manager Danny presented the procurement results, saying staff solicited quotes from four providers and received viable offers from InvoiceCloud, Tyler Payments and Global Payments. “Staff is recommending moving forward with Tyler Payments based on the annual fees to BPU and the implementation that it would be required from the IT integration perspective,” Danny said. He also told commissioners that InvoiceCloud submitted a revised quote after the packet went out that reduced the annual fee to the utility to $0.
Commissioners debated the customer-facing transaction fees that would be passed through to ratepayers. One commissioner noted the difference between a $0 per-transaction assessment under InvoiceCloud’s revised quote and fees “a dollar twenty or a dollar twenty-five” charged by another provider, and warned the per-transaction costs could add up for customers. Danny confirmed that the annual fee is a cost to BPU while per-transaction fees would be passed directly to customers.
After discussion about whether to wait for a final best-and-final from InvoiceCloud or to proceed, a commissioner moved to approve a one-year contract with Tyler Payments; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
The commission directed staff to return to the commission later with any new best-and-final proposals or for a full RFP next year if commissioners decide to seek a longer term contract. The utility will pass per-transaction fees to customers; staff said the current budget includes revenue related to the processing arrangement for this fiscal year, while next year’s treatment remains undetermined.
The motion to proceed with Tyler Payments passed on a voice vote; individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript packet. The commission did not adopt a multi-year term at this meeting and indicated they may request a longer-term contract in a future procurement.
The commission’s action alters the vendor that will process customer credit-card payments and sets a one-year evaluation period during which staff will monitor costs and customer impacts.
