EDA approves Truist/CENPOS electronic payments option for Market 5

The Charles City County Economic Development Authority on May 7 voted to adopt a Truist‑supported CENPOS payment gateway to accept electronic payments for Market 5 tenants.

A Truist consultant identified in the transcript as Rosemburg Vasquez described CENPOS as a “PCI‑secure gateway that protects customer credit card information and removes liability from the organization” and said the platform accepts payments by phone, in person, via a website, or through payment links. He outlined a recommended interchange‑plus pricing model with a $10 monthly CENPOS fee, an additional 0.10% platform fee, $0.10 per transaction and anticipated an effective processing rate likely between 2% and 3.5% until the EDA generates its own transaction history. “Based on my portfolio, most accounts generally remain in the low 2% range,” he said.

Board members discussed cost mitigation through offering ACH, which carries substantially lower costs than card processing, and the ability to add a convenience fee on credit card transactions to encourage ACH use. Travis Johnston asked for a hypothetical example; Vasquez estimated that processing $4,000 a month could result in roughly $80–$140 in fees depending on the effective rate. After discussion, Johnston moved to approve the platform as presented and Adriane Hicks seconded; the motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Ms. Boone said tenants would welcome an electronic option and Truist offered to review actual data after three months and had agreed to waive early‑termination fees.