Acceptance of Court Payments at Retail Locations and Through On-Line Banking - Riverside Superior Court

Overview/Program Description:

In 2010 the court entered into agreements with two vendors: Fiserv (doing business as CheckFreePay at retail locations) and MoneyGram, to accept court payments on criminal and infraction cases at retail locations located throughout the country or through online banking, for which these companies serve as processors. Customers make the payment in one of these methods through the vendor and pay a transaction fee. The payments are then transmitted electronically to the court's banking institution each day and detailed reports of the payments made are sent to the court so that staff can enter those payments in the court's case management system. MoneyGram also has the capability to upload payment information directly to a court's case management system if that can be arranged with the court and case management system vendor.

Program Benefits/Savings:

The court was able to work with both vendors to successfully implement the program. When the court implemented the program, it was primarily focused on payments made in a walk-in manner at retail locations. An unexpected benefit of the program was the large number of payments made through online banking. These payments make up the majority of those received.

The court gained efficiencies by serving fewer customers in lines at courthouses. The court receives approximately 600 payments a month through these options. For customers who are willing to pay a convenience fee to one of the two vendors in order to avoid standing in line at a courthouse, the program is extremely efficient. And for that percentage of the population that does not have a bank account and cannot send a check in the mail, the ability to make cash payments without visiting a courthouse is beneficial. These additional payment options for court customers increase the court's capacity to collect court-ordered debt.