Online Payment FAQs

Credit card transaction fees are assessed by Invoice Cloud, and based on the amount charged. While setting up service with Invoice Cloud years ago, the City was able to negotiate a flat fee for utility bills, up to this limit of $300, in order to save consumers money.  If the escalating transaction fee applied, the transaction fee on an average utility bill of around $160 would be closer to $7 per transaction. 

If your utility bill is over $300, you may still pay using a credit card, but you will have to make two separate payments. 

In order to be able to accept payments using credit card or EFT/e-check, the City works with a company called Invoice Cloud, which provides the payment processing platform. The transaction fee charged for credit card and EFT/e-check payments covers the cost of these services. Credit card transaction fees are slightly higher than EFT/e-check, because the transaction is higher risk and more complex for the system to process.

Some retailers do not charge any transaction fee because they "absorb" it into their product costs. For example, for an item that would normally be sold for $1.50, the retailer may choose to list the price at $1.75 in order to pay for the costs of payment transaction fees. The person purchasing the item pays $1.75 regardless of their payment method, and they will likely never know that $0.25 of the cost was a built-in transaction fee to cover the cost of processing credit card payments. 

The City does not "absorb" Invoice Cloud transaction fees, because doing so would increase the utility bill for everyone, including those who do not use any services provided by Invoice Cloud.

You can pay by credit or debit card, or you may issue an EFT/e-check using your bank account (checking or savings) information. Please check your biller’s website for the credit and debit cards that are eligible.
 

After you submit your payment, you will see a payment confirmation screen which will display a confirmation number, the account number, invoice number, amount paid, and a confirmation message. If your payment was unsuccessful, this page will display a brief statement explaining that the payment was unable to be processed. If you provided a valid email address with your payment information, you will also receive an email with the confirmation (or rejected payment) information. If your payment was unsuccessful, you may call City Hall to clarify and/or request an extension. 

Yes, your bill can be paid in any of the following ways:

• Web based online payment – login to online bill pay via www.aumsville.us
• Phone payments – call your biller’s office at 1(855)984-1203
• Paper check – sent by whatever means you choose, including US Postal Service (note:  many paper checks today are converted into electronic transactions once they are received by the biller).
• Email notification based payment – click the “View invoice or Pay Now” button in your email.

Yes, a payment can be made by another person who knows the following information: the type of bill to pay, the account number, customer name and amount to pay.

No, your current bank account (checking or savings) will work fine. So many payments are made electronically now that banks are already prepared for online payments. However, if you have arranged through your bank to automatically pay your bill, you need to contact your bank and discontinue the automated payment, otherwise you could end up paying your bill twice.

 

It is very simple. Here are the 4 steps taken by customers:

1. Payer goes to www.aumsville.us  and clicks on “Payments” to access the payment portal.
2. Payer chooses what type of bill to pay, enters the required fields for that bill/service type.
3. Payer enters payment method data (credit card or e-check), views convenience fee and approves payment by submitting it for processing.
4. Payer receives an email confirmation and/or prints a receipt that includes detailed payment information.

Do I have to enter an email address to make a payment?

Yes, an email address is required for payment confirmation.   A payment receipt is sent via email confirmation.  If you do not have an email address, you may enter noemail [at] noemail.com (noemail[at]noemail[dot]com) and print out a receipt at the end of the payment process.

Credit card transactions typically take 48 hours to settle.  An authorization is issued immediately; however, it takes 48 hours for the money to be moved.

EFT transactions typically take 48 – 72 hours to settle.   

 

The information you enter on the payment screen must be exactly the same as it appears on your credit card. This information collected will be used to authorize your payment.

When I try to pay my bill, it asks for credit card information and I want to pay by electronic check.

Under “How would you like to pay” click on the drop-down box and choose EFT Check.

City Hall staff at 503-749-2030 can answer most questions, but if the website is down or inoperable, please call Invoice Cloud customer service at (781) 848-3733.

 

Invoice Cloud uses the highest standards in Internet security. Account information displayed within the customer and biller portals is truncated to protect confidential data. Any information retained is not shared with third parties.

 

Yes!  Using Invoice Cloud, our staff can process your payment just like you would on your home computer.

Can I use more than one payment method per transaction?

Yes.  We will accept partial payments, so you may use one payment method for part of the transaction and another payment method for other parts of the transaction. However, please be aware of the potential fees associated with each transaction.

Paying online with a credit/debit card or electronic check saves time, gives you the flexibility to pay how and when desired, and saves money (no more stamps, paper checks or envelopes).

There are no signup costs or subscription fees.  A non-refundable convenience fee is added to each transaction to cover various administrative costs associated with billing and accepting payment.  Please note - at this time, if you have prior taxes, you will be unable to use this online service to pay your taxes.  Please contact the tax collector’s office for assistance.

Please be aware that interest and fees will not be waived if this website is inoperable for any reason or if data entry errors occur.  If the website is inoperable, payments can be made by check through the mail or by cash or check in person at City Hall. 

If there is a chance you may be unable to make a payment before 9 am on shut off day, call City Hall before shut off day (during business hours) to request a payment extension. If you have not arranged an extension and have not paid by 9 am on shut off day, a $30 fee will be added to your bill and your water will be disconnected. To view the schedule for shut offs, visit our Utility Billing page. 

A non refundable fee added to an invoice to cover various administrative costs associated with billing and accepting payment.

 

Invoice Cloud is a web-based, electronic invoice presentment and payment company that we have partnered with to provide faster, more convenient billing services to our taxpayers.  By automating billing and collections, citizens can click and pay online while helping the environment and reducing clutter in their home or workspace.

PCI stands for Payment Card Industry, and compliance with the industry standards is a requirement for those that accept the major credit cards and for software providers who have applications, which involve the transmission and/or storage of credit card information.  If breaches are found on systems that are not PCI compliant, the major credit card companies have the ability to levy significant fines on the offending parties.  

 

The City of Aumsville wanted to make paying bills easier for their customers, but didn’t have the electronic presentment and payment systems required to display, safely process and store financial information. We chose Invoice Cloud because it is easy to use, and the security is the strongest available. All the data collected is double encrypted and stored on secure servers. The data is not sold or released for any purpose other than to complete transactions.

 

You can make payment or review your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the exception of scheduled maintenance times, which typically occur overnight. It is always a good idea to pay or schedule a payment at least few days before the due date to allow for processing time.

 

If you are unable to find the information you need in your online payment history or open invoices, please call City Hall at 503-749-2030.

 

You and the authorized staff at City Hall.  No one will have access to your financial information as all check routing numbers and credit card numbers are truncated, so you never have to worry about security. As a security precaution, we don’t even show your full financial information back to you.

Absolutely. Invoice Cloud will safely store all of your financial information using Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliant systems. This includes truncating (abbreviating) account numbers so that even the biller does not see your complete account information.