The Town of Cicero Board Tuesday approved a contract to begin accepting payments by credit cards to cover costs for services. The new contract was bid out and Vantiv, a credit card processing company based in Cincinnati, Ohio was selected from five companies that submitted bids.

Vantiv offered the lowest processing fee of only 1.5 percent plus five cents per charge processed. The second lowest bid was two percent plus 20 cents per processed charge, said Finance Director Don Schultz. “It’s definitely going to help not only the resident who pays their bills and service fees, but also the Town of Cicero,” Schultz said. “It’s another convenience service that we want to offer our residents.”

Vantiv also works with the Town’s Bank, which is Fifth 3rd Bank. “Every department will have the capacity to accept credit cards,” Schultz said. Services and fees covered include vehicle stickers, parking violations, pet tags, water bills, building permits and business licenses, Schultz said. Everything except police bond payments will be accepted, he added.