Swipe Card Payment & Collection Solution for Magistrates' Courts

The Present

allpay.net can offer a secure, flexible payment and collection solution for financial penalties incurred in Court.

Not only does the allpay.net solution make it as convenient as possible for the fine payer to make their payments, which in turn may serve to reduce the likelihood of payment default, but it requires minimal administration from the Court itself.

The system is particularly useful for Magistrates' Courts if the fine payer lives away from the enforcing area or is unable to attend Court to make payments during normal office hours.

Regional divisions of HMCS across the UK are already benefiting from the service.

How the Solution for Magistrates' Courts Works

Payment swipe cards are encoded and embossed uniquely for each fine payer.

Although the swipe card can be designed to the Magistrates' Court's requirements, it tends to be as pictured, avoiding any reference to the type of payment being made and to be generic across multiple penalties.

In order to respect the fine payer's privacy there is also no reference to the establishment to which the payment is destined.

Once in receipt of their swipe card, fine payers have the option to pay in a way that suits them and in a place that suits them. For instance:

• Over the counter at plenty of UK locations including all PayPoint outlets and Post Office™ branches
• By landline or mobile telephone 24/7
• By SMS text message 24/7
• Over the internet 24/7

Payments in cash are accepted at all over-the-counter payment locations with many of these also accepting payments by debit and credit card.

Payments can be made by telephone, text and internet using all major debit and credit cards. This feature can be restricted to cash and debit card only if preferred.

WebconnecT Card and Payment File Management

Magistrates' Courts offering the service benefit from having all transactional data made available the next working day over allpay's secure Internet based communication portal WebconnecT.

This allows posting of payments to systems as a single data-stream providing a seamless, cost effective solution to payment collection.

WebconnecT can also be used to order new and replacement swipecards and there is no minimum volume for these.

Orders placed before 3pm on a working day will be dispatched by first class post the same day so cards for new fine payers can be issued on the same working day that they receive the penalty.

Some Features and Benefits

• Extends the number of payment options offered by the court
• Makes payments and collection easier and can potentially reduce defaults
• Payment details can be accessed the next working day
• No monthly fees; only a small charge per card issue and then a small fee for each card transaction made
• New and replacement cards can be ordered daily and there is no minimum volume requirement on orders. (Dispatched the same day if ordered before 3pm on any working day)
• Fine references can be aggregated by allpay so there is no need for multiple card issues

Proof of Payment

If payment is made by hand then the fine payer will be issued with a receipt.

If payment is made via allpay's IVR or internet payment systems, an authorisation code will be issued.

Additional Features

Payment Terminals

For Magistrates' Courts wishing to maintain payment facilities at their own premises, allpay.net offers point-of-sale payment terminals.
More about Payment Terminals...

Barcoded Billing

Barcoding is an ideal solution for one-off payments. The allpay.net barcoded billing service can be offered to complement the Magistrates' Court solution.
More about Barcoded Billing...

By providing easy, accessible ways to pay, allpay.net's solution for Magistrates' Courts provides a convenient and cost effective way to help facilitate more timely and efficient payments to Magistrates' Courts.

The Future

The Department of Constitutional Affairs is in the process of rationalising magistrates' activities so that they are centrally channelled on the Libra system. allpay.net has developed interface software that works in parallel with this system.