Payments service's top security

The authorities have bought a Capita Software Services system boasting the highest security standards and complying with the latest chip-and-pin requirements of the Payment Card Industry (PCI). Brokered by Staffordshire Connects, the four-year deal will give customers total peace of mind when using their debit or credit card to pay for services over the Internet, telephone or face to face.

And by procuring the payment management solution together, the partners have paid less than by going it alone.

The shared service partners are:

• Cannock Chase District Council
  
• Lichfield District Council
  
• Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
  
• Stafford Borough Council
  
• Staffordshire County Council
  
• Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

By sharing the solution, the partners will also benefit from lower card processing costs and reduced running costs because they will have fewer systems to maintain.

The Capita system offers a number of payment options:

• Face to face - using card, cash or cheque
  
• Online - via a secure web page
  
• Telephone - using an automated service
  
• Contact centre - via any authorised employee with Internet access.

The solution also boasts an income management facility enabling full control, reconciliation and reporting on income collected.

Lichfield councillor Colin Greatorex, chair of Staffordshire Connects' joint committee, said: "The Capita product is fully PCI compliant, giving citizens peace of mind that all payments are processed in the most secure manner".

Capita operations director Chris Cooper added: "Self service payment methods - be they over the telephone, online or by text - have changed the way in which people make payments. They speed up revenue collection for organisations while customers benefit from more choice in the way they can make payments".