Ask the Mayor: What’s Up With the Service Fee for Vehicle Registration?
Vehicle registration. File photo by Wendy Osher.
Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the most-asked questions submitted to his staff.
Dear Mayor Alan Arakawa,
Q: When one attempts to pay their vehicle registration there is a $7 “service fee” to pay by charge card. I understand that because the credit card issuers charge a fee to the County. What I don’t understand is why there is a $3.50 “service fee” to pay by check online. I don’t believe there is a charge by a bank to the County to use this method. Why is paying by check via snail mail “free” and paying online by check $3.50? That makes no sense. What “service” cost to the County above and beyond snail mail is being provided?
A: That’s because the county is assessed a fee by the vendor for processing online check payments. The vendor for Division of Motor Vehicle and Licensing online payments is the Hawaiʻi Informational Consortium, which is contracted by the State of Hawaiʻi.
Want to ask the Mayor? Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa at AskTheMayor@mauicounty.gov, (808) 270-7855 or mail them to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.
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