Edina to charge 3% credit card convenience fee
The City of Edina will begin charging a 3% convenience fee for credit card payments starting in July, Mayor Jim Hufflin announced Thursday.
The Fire Department will be the first to implement the new fee, which will apply to transactions at the public health division, South Metro Public Training Facility and building inspections division. Other city departments will follow as their payment systems are reconfigured to accommodate the charges.
The Fire Department processed nearly 9,000 credit card transactions totaling almost $5 million in 2023, according to Hufflin. The city paid more than $125,000 in credit card processing fees for the department alone, representing over 2.5% of sales.
Under state law, cities have the authority to charge convenience fees when customers choose to use cards instead of cash or checks. Customers paying with cash or check will not be charged the fee. The convenience fee will be displayed on online payment systems and posted with signs for in-person transactions, and city staff will inform customers about the fee when assisting them by phone or in person.
The citywide implementation will be gradual due to the organization's five different point-of-sale systems and 10 different merchant processing locations, with each department facing its own logistical challenges before the fee can be implemented.
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Votes (1)
Citywide Credit Card Processing Fee Policy
Dissent: None mentioned; the transcript is an informational update from the Mayor.
Moved by N/A [0:00] · Seconded by N/A [0:00]
The Mayor detailed that the Fire Department alone incurred over $125,000 in processing fees in 2023 from nearly 9,000 transactions totaling $5 million. The 3% fee is designed to shift these costs to the card users rather than the general tax base, while maintaining free options for cash and check payments.
Notable Quotes (2)
under state law cities have the authority to charge convenience fees or service charges when customers choose to use a card in lie of a check or cash
with five different points of sales systems and 10 different merchant processing locations across the organization each department has its own set of logistics to overcome before the fee is in place citywide
Ordinances & Resolutions (1)
State legislation granting cities the authority to charge convenience fees or service charges for card transactions.
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Credit Card Convenience Fee Implementation
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