Douglas County now provides our citizens with the ability to make electronic payments using a Credit Card or electronic check. This fact sheet attempts to answer many of the commonly asked questions regarding this service:
Q: Is this a proprietary service of Douglas County?
A: No, this is a service provided by the Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA), through its contractor, Colorado Interactive, LLC (CI),which provides electronic services to government entities across the State.
Q: Am I required to use this payment method?
A: No, this is a service provided to our citizens, but there is no requirement for its use.
Q: Why is there a fee to use the service?
A: It is a fee set, collected and retained by Colorado Interactive, LLC (CI), to recoup their operating costs and to support the hosting, maintenance and expansion of the online services.
Q: Does an electronic check work the same as a credit card?
A: No, the industry has set up an electronic system that checks the validity of a credit card and in most cases if money/credit level is sufficient for the purchase. No such system exists for electronic checks. The information is taken by SIPA and then passed on to the correct bank. This process can take several days. SIPA has no way to determine if the routing information, bank account or account balance is correct until the bank responds to the submitted data. A paper check works in exactly the same way where it might take a number of days before the check becomes rejected.
Q: Why does the County charge a fee for a rejected electronic check/credit card?
A: When a check is returned unpaid or a credit card charge is disputed, several things come into play. Colorado Interactive, LLC (CI) has already advanced funds to the County to cover the check or credit card. The County is required to write a re-imbursement check to (CI) for the unpaid or disputed fees. This costs the county additional dollars to research, track and refund money based on a rejected check or disputed credit card charge. In addition we contact the citizen and attempt to recover these dollars usually after the service or product has already been given to the citizen. The Clerk and Recorders Office charges a fee of $20 on rejected checks which does not fully cover the actual recovery costs.
Q: Why can't the County tell me exactly what Credit Card number or electronic check information I used when transacting the service?
A: This information is used over the internet. To protect the citizen, only partial account information is stored and that information is encrypted. While this is frustrating to citizens who may have entered incorrect information the benefit of protecting this data is crucial. In most cases the citizen's bank can confirm the data received from Colorado Interactive LLC, (CI).
While this represents the most frequently asked questions, additional information regarding the electronic processing of a payment can be directed to the customer service department of the State Portal. The phone number is 303 534-3468 or the email address is support@www.colorado.gov