Payment FAQs

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Payment System Frequently Asked Questions 

The City of Baltimore is introducing a payment website with enhanced customer service features. For more information about setting up and managing your online account, view the Frequently Asked Questions below. 

Questions regarding the transition

When did the new system launch? 

The City launched the new system on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at 8:30 am. Over the next few months,  we will introduce further enhancements. Our goal is to deliver an improved customer experience, saving people time when paying bills or fees. 

What does the customer account portal offer? 

The City of Baltimore partnered with Paymentus to offer an enhanced website for online account access and payments, which includes the following additional features that customers may elect to receive: 

  1. eBill - Email notification when a bill has been issued. The notification will include the total amount due and the due date in the notification. 
     
  2. AutoPay  - Set up and manage automatic payments on the bill due date using a credit card, debit card, or eCheck/ACH (bank draft). 
     
  3. Pay by Text  - Receive a text message when a bill has been issued and pay the bill by text.
     
  4. Payment Reminder  - Email reminder a couple of days before the due date, on the due date, or a couple of days after the due date. (Note: Customers must sign up to receive a payment reminder. It is not sent if the customer does not select the option to receive a payment reminder.) 
     
  5. Wallet  - Save payment methods (credit card, debit card, or eCheck/ACH (bank draft). 
     
  6. Interactive Voice Response - The ability to save payment methods when paying using Interactive Voice Response (IVR).

What is Paymentus? 

Paymentus is a national company that partners with utilities to provide convenient electronic interactions with customers. This includes e-billing, pay-by-phone, automated telephone and email messaging, and various options for web payments. 

I set up my payments through my bank’s website to pay my City bill. Will that be impacted by this change? 

No, this should not be impacted. However, we suggest that you monitor your first payment scheduled to be deducted from your bank account after Sept. 30th. If you do not see that it is deducted within three (3) business days of the date you scheduled, please contact the Bureau of Revenue Collections at (410) 396-3000 or email us by clicking here. 

I set up a future or recurring payment through the City’s website and the transaction is scheduled to occur after September 30, 2022, do I need to do anything to ensure payments continue? 

Yes, you will need to take action. Payment(s) scheduled for after Friday, Sept. 30th will not be processed. You will need to reschedule payments to the City by visiting the new Customer Payment Portal. We apologize for this inconvenience. 

To schedule future or recurring payments, you will need to set up an account  in the customer portal; see Paymentus System Questions below for how to set up an account and autopay. Please ensure you have your account number(s) available during the registration process. 

I made a payment on your website and my balance due did not update. How do I resolve this? 

Payments made on the website are applied to your account and you will receive a confirmation. Bill balances are generally not updated until the second business day. If the update has not occurred by the third business day, please contact the Bureau of Revenue Collections at (410) 396-3000 or email us by clicking here. 

I made a payment over the phone (IVR) and my balance due did not update. How do I resolve this? 

Payments made over the phone are applied to your account and you will receive a confirmation number. Bill balances are generally not updated until the second business day. If the update has not occurred by the third business day, please contact the Bureau of Revenue Collections at (410) 396-3000 or email us by clicking here. 

What are the payment limits? 

Paymentus payment limits for: 

  • Electronic Check (ACH): $300,000 for all bill types  
  • Credit card and Instant Payment Network (IPN) methods (for example, PayPal, Venmo): $1,000 for water billing payments and $15,000 for all other bill types  

What fees does the City of Baltimore charge for different payment types? 

The City of Baltimore does not charge fees for any bill types paid via electronic checks (ACH). Convenience fees include: 

Payment Type 

Fee 

Water billing by Credit Card or Instant Payment Network (for example, PayPal, Venmo)

$2.39 per payment 

All other payments by Credit Card or Instant Payment Network (for example, PayPal, Venmo)

2.39% 

eCheck/ACH (bank draft)

No charge

 Can I still look up my accounts online?  

Yes, you can if  you visit the Online Payments and Accounts Lookup page.

What payment methods are affected by this transition?  

The transition will affect any bill you pay online via the City's web pages or by phone. If you mail in payments or visit the Abel Wolman building, that process remains the same.

What payment types are affected by this transition?  

  • Alley & Footway
  • Bag Taxes
  • Beverage Container Tax
  • CHAP
  • Environmental Control Board Citations
  • Food Licensing
  • Hotel/Motel Tax
  • Lien Certifications
  • Lobbyist Activity
  • Metered Water
  • Miscellaneous Billing
  • Parking Garage/Lot Taxes
  • Passenger for Hire Tax
  • Permits, Licensing, & Registration
  • Personal Property Tax
  • Real Property
  • Real Property Tax (Part-Year)
  • Short-Term Rental Tax
  • Special Benefits District Fees
  • Telecom Tax
  • Vehicle Citations
  • Water
  • Workday Invoices (formerly City Dynamics)

How does the Customer Payment Portal relate to the Department of Public Works (DPW) water customer service portal?

DPW's customer self-service portal provides a set of tools to help individuals monitor their water consumption, billing, and payment information (see below). The Customer Payment Portal, which launched on Oct. 1, 2022, introduces features to streamline the payment experience. There is some overlap (for example, both systems track payment data—however, for water payment history prior to October 2022, customers will need to use the DPW portal).

Use DPW’s water portal for the following features, then pay online at the Customer Payment Portal:

Consult & Manage Consumption Insights
  • payment history
  • 36-months billing information and history
  • mailing address and contact information
  • requests and cases
  • view historical read, consumption & inteval data
  • compare historical bills, consumption & reads

Why don’t Bag Surcharge, Passenger for Hire (Taxi Tax), and Permits, Licensing, or Registration show an amount due?

We are working to address this issue.

What happens if I pay my city bill at a Fidelity location (Banco Amigo, Check Cash Depot, etc.)?

Those locations will continue to accept payments after we transition to the new payment system.

Paymentus System Questions 

How do I create a Customer Portal account? 

To create an account in the Customer Portal, you will need to enter the email you wish to associate with the account and the password for the website. 

Step-By-Step Guide: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal.
  2. Click on the "Register Now" link. 
  3. Fill in all the required information on the screen and click the "Enroll" button. 
  4. You will be taken to a confirmation screen. Click on the "Login to Customer Portal" button. 
  5. You can choose to "Add an Account" or click "Log out" from the menu on the left side. 

How do I add my City of Baltimore account to the Customer Portal? 

In order to use the Customer Portal's features, you will need to add your City of Baltimore account to your Customer Portal account. You can link multiple City of Baltimore accounts to a given Customer Portal account. Simply repeat the process in this document for each account you wish to add. 

Step-By-Step Guide: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal. 
    If you have not registered for a Customer Portal account, click “Register Now” to create an account. 
  2. Depending on if you have an existing account added, your Customer Portal will be different once logged in:
    If this is your first account, you will automatically be taken to the Add Account screen. If this is an additional account, you will need to click on the "Add Account" button at the bottom of the screen. 
  3. Select the type of account you wish to add under Payment Type.
  4. Fill in the required information and click the "Add Account" button.
    Note: When an account is added, it defaults to a paper bill, so please change “Paperless” to Yes, if you want to receive an eBill rather than a paper bill. 
  5. You will see an Account Created page. Click "Back to Accounts" to proceed. 
  6. You will be taken back to the accounts screen where you can see your newly added account. 
  7. You can either click the "Add Account" button at the bottom to add another account or click "Log out" to end the Session. 

How do I set up eBilling? 

On the Accounts page look for “Paperless.” If it is set to “No,” you are receiving a paper bill. Change it to “Yes” to switch to eBilling. 

How do I add a payment method to My Wallet in the Customer Portal? 

Wallet entries are used to determine what payment is used to pay your bills. At least one Wallet entry is required to make a payment in the Customer Portal or set up Scheduled Payments (AutoPay). 

Step-By-Step Guide: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal. 
  2. Once logged in, click on My Wallet in the left menu. 
  3. Click on the "Add Payment Method" button. 
  4. Select the Payment Method for the payment type. 
  5. Enter card/account information and click on the "Add" button. 
  6. To add more Wallet entries, click on the "Add Payment Method" button, otherwise click on the "Log out" icon. 

How do I make a payment without storing my payment information in the Customer Portal? 

You may make a payment using the One-Time Payment option rather than logging in to the Customer Portal to make the payment. The link to the one-time payment option can be found beneath the customer login. You will need your account number. 

If you want to make a payment in the Customer Portal, but do not want to store your payment information, you would have to add a payment method to make the payment, then delete the payment method before logging out. 

Step-By-Step Guide to Delete a Customer Portal Payment Method: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal. 
  2. Once logged in, click on My Wallet in the left menu. 
  3. Click Edit on the Payment Method you want to delete. 
  4. Click Remove Payment Method. 

How do I set up AutoPay? 

AutoPay allows customers to set up automated reoccurring payments for their water bill on the due date of each bill. Customers will receive a notification of each upcoming payment and should review it carefully each month to ensure that they are comfortable with the payment amount before it is made. The notification of upcoming payments includes a link to cancel the scheduled payment. Customers will also receive a payment confirmation once the payment is processed. 

Step-By-Step Guide: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal. 
  2. Once logged in, click on the AutoPay icon within the Water account for which you would like to set up AutoPay. 
  3. Select the Payment Method you would like AutoPay to use to pay bills. Click Continue. If you do not have a payment method saved, click add new to save credit card, debit card, or bank account payment information. (See FAQ: How do I add a payment method to my wallet in the Customer Portal? For more information.) 
  4. Select the Start Date, End Date (optional), and Notification (Email, SMS, or Phone) of upcoming payments, as well as the days in advance for the notification. The Notification will include a link to cancel the auto payment for the current bill, should you choose to do so. The selected start date may be changed if it is too close to the bill due date or if a recent payment has been made. An alert will appear with the new start date. 
  5. Click on the "I Authorize" button. 
  6. A confirmation screen will appear. Click on "Back to AutoPay". 
  7. You can click "Add Schedule" to add AutoPay to another account or use the left menu to access other sections of the Customer Portal.

I forgot my password for my web account. How do I reset it? 

Step-by-Step Guide: 

  1. Click the forgot password link. 
  2. Enter the email address associated with the account when prompted. Click continue. 
  3. Answer the two security questions you set up for the account. (The answers are not case sensitive). 
  4. An email with a temporary password will be sent to the email associated with the account. 
  5. Log in to the customer portal using the email address and temporary password. 
  6. You will be prompted to reenter the temporary password and set a new password and click continue. 
  7. The accounts page should appear. 

How do I remove an account from the Customer Portal? 

If you no longer require access to a Water Account in your Customer Portal, you can remove it. This guide will help you in removing it from your Customer Portal account. 

Step-By-Step Guide: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal. 
  2. Once logged in, ensure you are in the Accounts view. If not, click on the "Accounts" link at the top left. 
  3. Under the account number, you want to remove, click on the Edit button. 
  4. Click on the Remove Account button. 
  5. Click on the Confirm button to validate. 

If someone gets my account number, what will keep them from getting my financial information if I have saved my credit card or bank account number in the Paymentus wallet feature? 

You will have a unique login and password to keep your information secure. In addition, the account number of your payment method displayed online is redacted. That means all but the last four digits are replaced with asterisks “*”. 

I set up my account on Paymentus autopay but there is no message on the bill that says the account is automatically paid, am I still set up on autopay? 

With the new system, the bills do not have a message reminding customers not to pay because it is automatically deducted.  Autopay customers receive an email 2-4 days before the payment is charged.  Also, you can always log into your customer portal account and on the accounts page, the autopay button will be green indicating the autopay is active. 

I am now receiving an email reminding me my autopay is scheduled to be charged. Do I need to do anything? 

The email is a friendly reminder that just lets you know your payment method in the system will be charged in 2-4 days. You do not need to do anything with the email unless you want to stop the payment. To stop the payment you click the link in the email.  If you do not want to stop the payment you do not have to do anything it is just a reminder. 

I created my account with an incorrect email. How do I fix it? 

Do NOT create a second account with the correct email.  Instead, log in to your account with the incorrect email you wish to change and the password you created. Once you have logged in go to my profile from the menu on the left of the page. Under Login Details in the right column on the website or toward the bottom of the screen on a tablet or smartphone, you will see a grey box with your email in it. Click the blue button after “To edit your Login in the box above.“ Type the email you wish to use in the box, scroll down to the Save Changes button, and click it.  Now your new user name is the email you updated. Please keep your login credential and the answers to your security questions on file. 

How do I update my saved credit card or bank account Information? 

If you need to update the information for a saved payment method (for example, the card number is the same but the expiration date has changed), see below.  

Step-By-Step Guide: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal. 
  2. Once logged in, click on My Wallet in the left menu.  You cannot edit or update a payment method through Autopay. 
  3. Click the “Edit”  button located on the icon for the credit card or bank account you need to update. 
  4. Make the edits needed. 
  5. Click the check box to authorize the payment, this makes the payment type active but does not actually charge anything to the card. 
  6. Click the "Confirm” Button. 

How do I Delete a payment method? 

If you need to remove a saved payment method, a credit card, or a checking account, from your customer portal account see below. 

Step-By-Step Guide: 

  1. Visit the Customer Payment Portal. 
  2. Once logged in, click on My Wallet in the left menu. 
  3. Click the “Edit”  button on the payment type you need to update. 
  4. Click the “Remove Payment Method” Button. 
  5. Click the ‘Confirm” Button. 

If this payment was set up for your autopay you must choose a new payment method for autopay or the account will not be charged.