MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK

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July 2, 2008

Court clerk’s office taking part in pilot program using credit cards

By Liz McMahan



The cashier in the Muskogee County District Court Clerk’s office will begin asking patrons next week whether they want paper or plastic.

They won’t be bagging up anything, but patrons will have the option of paying by credit card rather than cash or check, said Paula Sexton, court clerk.

Sexton and a staff member attended meeting in Oklahoma City this week to learn all the fine points of the new process. Muskogee County is the largest of five counties in the state that will begin accepting credit cards in a pilot program, Sexton said.

With the program, the clerk’s office will accept MasterCard, Discover and Visa.

“We’re really enthusiastic about it,” Sexton said. “I think it will improve service to everybody.”

Sexton said she gets requests daily from people wanting to use credit cards for payment.

The courts haven’t been able to accept credit cards before because court fees are mandated by state law, Sexton said. Credit card companies charge the person receiving the money a fee, which would reduce the net collected in cases, she said.

The state has had to work out a special process for the credit cards to be accepted, she said.

The clerk’s office may accept credit cards for fees like fines and court costs, but not for attorney fees and child support, Sexton said.

“Tons and tons of people will be able to use their credit card to pay,” she said.

She said she believes allowing the use of credit cards will reduce the number of people failing to pay fines on time and therefore reduce the number of warrants issued for failure to appear.

Not only are defendants going to be able to charge it, Sexton expects a lot of attorneys to use the new service.

“A lot of attorneys are really excited about it,” she said. “They won’t have to carry checks around with them, and if they have something they forgot to bring payment for they can pay it right then and won’t have to come back. We don’t accept any filings without payment.

“It will just make it much easier and accessible for everyone,” she said.



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