City Council OKs Plan Allowing Payment by Credit Card
The city of Los Angeles soon will start accepting credit cards for charges ranging from zoo admission to building permit fees, according to a plan approved by the City Council on Wednesday.
“It’s basically a plan for bringing the city into the 20th century,” said Hilary Norton, deputy to Councilman Richard Alatorre, who initiated the plan almost a year ago.
For some fees, the city accepts only certified checks.
Los Angeles-based Imperial Bank will handle the transactions in exchange for 2% of the charges. Start-up costs for the one-year pilot project were put at $107,000, which will come out of the city’s general fund.
Councilwoman Rita Walters objected, saying the plan would effectively reduce city revenues by 2%.
Others who have studied the plan, however, countered that departments, such as Building and Safety, already lose more than that tracking bounced checks.
Councilman Mike Hernandez added that the plan will increase the speed with which the city collects fees, because people with insufficient funds in their checking accounts will be able to immediately charge fees to Visa and MasterCard.
Norton said the program should be running early next year.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
