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The city of Grand Coulee now accepts payment for utility bills and traffic fines by credit or debit card, City Clerk Carol Boyce said last week.

The city will accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover Cards through a special linkup with GovPayNet, an Indiana firm.

“Cardholders can pay their utility bills and traffic fines to Grand Coulee in the same way they might handle other transactions, anytime, day or night, without having to write a check or carry large sums of cash,” Boyce said.

GovPayNet, accepts the payment online (www.GovPayNet.com) or by phone (1-888-604-7888) 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The firm’s fee for handling the transaction is applied at the time payment is made, and the program is at no charge to the city, Boyce explained.

“The credit card arrangement can mean more frequent and timely payments, and hopefully fewer increased costs,” Boyce explained.

“Each business day, we reconcile the previous day’s payments with the agency we are serving and then electronically forward the cardholders’ payments in full to their bank account,” Mark MacKenzie, CEO of GovPayNet stated. “We also handle all cardholder calls and inquiries about any payment issues,” he added.

Boyce stated that at this time “we are not taking [credit card] payments at city hall.”

The new payment plan was approved by the council a month ago and initiated May 1.