Gilbert Town Council to Consider New Credit Card Fees for Town Transactions

Mayor Brigette Peterson | City of Gilbert Official Website

By SE Valley Times Report

Jun 2, 2023

Gilbert, Ariz. – This August, the Gilbert Town Council will consider a new fee structure for credit card transactions made with the town.

A public hearing and vote to adopt the new proposed fees will occur at the regularly scheduled council meeting at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, August 1.

If approved, the new credit card fees will go into effect after September 1, 2023.

This new payment structure would establish fees related to the acceptance of credit card payments for town services and activities and could include:

A maximum surcharge fee of 4% for non-utility businesses services
A maximum of $4 convenience fee per transaction for utility business services

Town Council may adopt the above proposed fees or any lesser fee at the August 1 meeting.

Gilbert’s new credit card fees cannot be higher than the fees imposed by credit card companies and merchant service providers, meaning the town will not make a profit from the collection of these new fees.

Instead, the new proposed structure is designed to more equitably spread out the costs associated with credit card transactions made with the town.

Rising Costs for the Town

Gilbert has seen significant increases in the amount of fees paid by the town to accept credit cards as payment for various services.

In fiscal year 2022, the town paid $1.39M in credit card processing fees. More than $800K of that came from municipal utility transactions.

Gilbert offers a variety of modern payment methods and will continue to provide payment options that do not incur additional fees, including e-check or ACH payments.

Gilbert has collected credit card transaction fees on Development Services activities, which includes building permitting and inspections, for several years. This allows Gilbert to reduce the amount of fees paid by the town while still offering maximum flexibility to our business community.

New Credit Card Fees Public Hearing and Vote