Category: Industry

FinTech Magazine | Saurabh Joshi: Why Stablecoins Transform Cross-Border Payments

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CSG Forte President Saurabh Joshi explains how blockchain-based currencies could revolutionize international B2B transactions while reducing costs.

PYMNTS | The ‘Sandbox’ Bill Bets on Faster AI Innovation

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A new bill from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz proposes giving artificial intelligence (AI) firms greater flexibility to test and develop new technologies by temporarily easing certain regulatory requirements.

It’s Time to Overhaul Your Government Payment System, But It’s Not as Taxing as You Think

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Does your local or state government agency offer digital payments? If not, now is the time to follow the federal government’s lead. As of September 30, 2025, all federal disbursements and receipts are slated to be transitioned to digital disbursement, which means the end of paper checks for IRS refunds, Social Security payments and payroll disbursements. It also means where legally permissible, all payments to the federal government must be processed electronically starting October 1.

Why is Uncle Sam modernizing federal payments? According to the order, “The continued use of paper-based payments by the Federal Government … imposes unnecessary costs; delays; and risks of fraud, lost payments, theft, and inefficiencies. Mail theft complaints have increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, Department of the Treasury checks are 16 times more likely to be reported lost or stolen, returned undeliverable, or altered than an electronic funds transfer (EFT).”

Digital payments have become the norm—92% of U.S. consumers used a website, app or digital wallet to make a payment in the past year. Despite the popularity of online payments, government agencies have been slow to adopt them. As of 2024, only 4.9% of local governments had implemented digital payments. When government agencies do accept online payments, they often rely on outdated, clunky payment systems that redirect users to third-party portals.

Modernizing your government payment system promotes operational efficiency, boosts convenience for payers and staff and increases collections. Flexible digital payment options make it easier for constituents to pay on time.

 

Outdated Payment Systems: Silent Saboteur of Timely Payments, Customer Trust and Back-Office Efficiency

Many government agencies still rely on checks, in-person cash payments or outdated systems, creating friction for payers and back-office staff.

The harder it is to pay a bill, the more likely people are to put it off. When the payment process takes too long, is difficult to navigate on a mobile device and/or requires too many resubmissions (due to system glitches), people may postpone paying their utilities, taxes, fees or other government bills. Millennials report they are more likely to prioritize paying bills that are easy to pay before taking care of those that are inconvenient.

Almost half (45%) of Americans have paid a bill late in the past year, according to a 2024 Lending Tree survey. Which bills were late? Utility bills (44%), cable/internet (34%) and rent/mortgage (31%) payments were most often paid late. Why? More than a quarter of the late payers (28%) mixed up the due date, and 28% forgot about the bill. Almost one third (32%) of consumers said that utilities are the most challenging type of bill to remember to pay on time (the most common response).

Clunky third-party payment portals damage customer experience and erode trust. When a portal is slow, glitchy or hard to navigate, payers may doubt the reliability of both the system and the government agency behind it. A jarring transition from your government website to the payment site—like completely different branding or layout—can seem unprofessional and raise concerns about legitimacy of the payment site. If the portal looks outdated, generates pop-ups or lacks clear security cues, users may even suspect phishing or data breaches.

Checks are costlier and labor intensive. “Checks probably have the highest labor cost associated with them,” Nacha reports. The cost of receiving paper checks ($1 – $2 per check) is higher than receiving Automated Clearing House (ACH or eCheck) payments ($.26 – $.50 per transaction). Back-office staff spend hours mailing paper bills and processing paper checks manually. It takes several steps to process paper checks, including:

  • Sort the mail
  • Match checks to accounts/invoices
  • Endorse each check
  • Complete a deposit slip
  • Take the checks to the bank

Enter the payment information into the accounting or billing software

Billing staff must also field phone calls (to explain confusing bills) and chase late payments. All of these labor-intensive tasks claim valuable staff time that could be spent on more meaningful tasks that require a human touch.

 

The Solution: Offer Flexible Payment Options Residents Will Use

Flexible digital payment options are the key to improving payment efficiency, on-time collections and payer trust and satisfaction. Many consumers prefer to pay online. A 2024 Experian survey found that 58% of respondents pay bills online, while just 17% visit a location to pay a bill and a mere 15% mail their payments.

To satisfy diverse payer preferences, government agencies should offer a variety of flexible payment options, including:

Multiple payment methods. Government agencies should allow constituents to pay using their preferred payment method. Some of the most popular include:

  • Credit/debit cards: According to the 2025 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice report, 88% of survey respondents used a credit card within 30 days of completing the survey; 74% had paid with a debit card.
  • ACH: More than two thirds (70%) of survey respondents used this payment method. In addition to being less expensive than checks to process, ACH processing is faster. ACH payments can be settled within a few hours on the same business day, compared to paper checks that can take a week or longer to clear.
  • Digital wallets: While consumers often reach for digital wallets to make online and—to a lesser extent—in-store purchases, they also use these convenient apps for bill payment. Recent PYMNTS research found that 40% of consumers had used a digital wallet to pay bills within the past year. Digital wallet payments are processed electronically (eliminating manual labor associated with paper checks), can be reconciled quickly, and typically clear within one to three days.
  • Automatic payments (aka autopay or recurring payments): Automatic payments refer to automatically deducting payments from a specified bank account or credit/debit card on a scheduled basis. A PYMNTS survey of U.S. consumers found that 41% of consumers use automatic bill payments, with most (63%) using them for discretionary purchases. Fewer people (33%) use autopay for utilities like electricity, delinquencies, and time spent chasing late payments; and improved customer satisfaction.
  • Partial payments: A partial payment option allows constituents to pay less than the full balance for utilities, taxes or other fees. People can make an initial payment and settle the remaining balance later. A payer who’s short on funds pays what they can to demonstrate good faith, stay in good standing and avoid late fees and service disconnection.

 

Modern Government Payment Processing Systems Benefit Payers and Governments

Government agencies need an electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solution like CSG Forte BillPay to increase efficiency, on-time payments and payer satisfaction. EBPP lets you send invoices electronically and securely. Constituents can log in to the platform and pay using a credit/debit card, ACH transfer or digital wallet. To maximize these benefits, agencies should focus on implementing systems and features that streamline the payment process for both payers and staff, such as:

Offer seamless, unified payment experiences. Embedding the government payment processing system into your agency’s website and integrating it with your billing and accounting software can:

  • Reduce friction and confusion
  • Eliminate administrative errors
  • Build payer trust
  • Encourage on-time payments

Increase self-service capabilities. Customers can access and update their account information and make payments at their convenience—and connect with a human agent when they need more support.

Realize efficiency gains and cost savings. Automating the billing and payment processes and providing flexible payment options can:

  • Save staff time: Your back-office staff won’t have to print and mail bills, process as many checks or manually reconcile payments. Clear billing statements and flexible payment options mean fewer billing-related phone calls.
  • Reduce costs: Electronic invoices reduce printing and mailing expenses, and processing payments electronically saves money.

 

Go Digital: Do Less, Collect More with CSG Forte BillPay

Flexible digital payments are no longer a perk—they’re the expectation. Going digital leads to happier citizens, lighter staff workloads, and more on-time payments.

CSG Forte makes it easy to modernize your government payment system without starting from scratch. CSG Forte BillPay is an EBPP solution that lets you accept payments anytime, from any connected device, using flexible payment methods like credit/debit cards, ACH and digital wallets. It supports one-time, scheduled, recurring and partial payments and automatically sends custom reminders and confirmations.

BillPay delivers a transparent, mobile-friendly payment experience through a single-page checkout form that complies with all requirements for web and mobile accessibility. It plugs into your existing accounting software, so there’s no need to overhaul your current systems.

A leading utility service provider saw a 65% drop in failed payments after implementing BillPay’s recurring billing and Account Updater tool, which automatically keeps credit card data current. Intech Apex Court Solutions increased credit card collections by 230% by implementing Forte’s Text to Pay solution.

CSG Forte can help your government agency achieve similar results. See how:

From Paper Checks to Autopay: Streamlining Rent Payments for Property Management Success

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Property managers and owners count on getting on-time rent payments to maintain a healthy revenue stream. As economic pressures grow and tenant satisfaction declines, pressure on landlords is mounting to modernize rent payment processes. With inflation and higher living costs, almost 50% of U.S. renters struggle to make monthly payments. Outdated payment systems cause delays and errors, worsening the rent collection problem.

Many renters are dissatisfied with property management systems that don’t offer modern conveniences, such as digital tools for rent payments. They often want to pay rent online; 86% of renters say that online rent payments are important to them when evaluating a new rental before signing a lease. But property managers and owners are often stuck with the old-fashioned paper check method of taking rent payments.

To boost efficiency and meet tenant expectations for convenient, online payment options, property managers must streamline the payment process. Keep reading to learn how flexible, online payment solutions for renters can help companies overcome four common payment challenges:

 

1. Late and missed payments disrupt cash flow.

Late or missed rent payments are a common problem for property managers and owners, leading to cash flow disruptions and higher administrative expenses. Property owners rely on consistent rent payments to cover their own expenses such as mortgage payments, insurance, property tax, maintenance and repairs, and staff salaries.

As of November 2024, 14% percent of renters had incurred a late fee in the past 12 months. Many renters who get a single late fee struggle to recover. In fact, just under 60% of tenants who incur one late fee will end up with two, or more. More than 20% of renters with at least one late fee also have five or more additional charges in the last 12 months. And it’s not chump change: the median outstanding rental balance increased by 60% between September 2021 ($2,000) to November 2024 ($3,200).

 

2. Delinquency management is time consuming and legally complex.

Chasing late payments involves sending reminders, calling and emailing tenants and tracking communication, which consumes valuable staff time. Inefficient communication systems make these tasks harder. Navigating local, state and federal landlord-tenant laws regarding late fees, notices to pay or quit and eviction procedures is complex and time-sensitive. Errors can lead to fines, lawsuits from tenants or costly delays in gaining possession of the unit.

 

3. Some payment methods are inefficient, risky and/or difficult to reconcile.

There are various reasons for this, but the following are common:

  • Paper checks require physical handling, are slow to process and are susceptible to loss, theft and fraud. Reconciliation of paper checks is often manual.
  • Cash is difficult to track and risky due to security and fraud concerns.
  • Bank transfers (ACH/wire) sometimes lack clear identification of the payer or property, making reconciliation difficult without proper systems.

 

4. Communication gaps can lead to disputes.

If policies—rent due dates, grace periods, late fees and accepted payment methods—aren’t clearly communicated upfront (and continually repeated), tenants may challenge them.

What’s the solution? Property management payment solutions (with online payment options for renters) automate rent collection, payment processing and communication with renters.

 

How Two Companies Streamlined Payment Processing with CSG Forte

CSG Forte offers a suite of payment solutions that manage the entire payment lifecycle on a single platform, from payments and security to communications, support and self-service. Forte processes online and mobile payments, including credit/debit, ACH and digital wallet and sends automated payment reminders. Firms using CSG Forte’s property management payment solutions have experienced impressive results.

Gordon James Realty, a commercial and residential property management firm, needed a reliable and efficient system to process payments to vendors, receive payments from clients and manage returned payments. CSG Forte helped the company streamline the payment process by allowing the firm to process payments electronically, reducing manual labor and enhancing the end-user experience. Since implementing Forte payment solutions, Gordon James has experienced a:

  • 90% reduction in returned payments each month
  • 75% decrease in payment-related customer service inquiries
  • 25% reduction in accounts receivable processing costs
  • 15% reduction in time spent manually processing checks

While Gordon James Realty’s adoption of CSG Forte’s payment solutions showcases the significant benefits of streamlined, electronic payment processing—marked by dramatic reductions in manual work and customer issues—these advantages are not unique to one firm. In fact, property management businesses of all types and sizes are turning to digital innovation to solve persistent challenges. For example, Rentec Direct’s experience demonstrates the transformative impact of recurring, automated payment solutions in the property management sector.

Rentec Direct, a provider of online property management solutions to landlords and property managers, reduced late payments by using recurring digital payments powered by Forte. Rentec needed an integrated payment solution that allowed property managers to accept online payments and handle late fees and missed rent. Using Forte enabled Rentec to accept both ACH and credit card payments digitally, via one-time or recurring automatic payments.

Forte’s solutions were especially helpful for property owners utilizing Rentec’s solution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between April and July 2020, renters failed to pay on time approximately 22% of the time. However, renters who used Rentec’s recurring payment system, powered by CSG Forte, only made late payments 1% of the time. During the height of the pandemic, landlords offering a recurring payment option experienced 20% less churn, resulting in 20% fewer vacancies.

 

Simplify Rent Payment and Reduce Late Payments with Forte

Flexible payment options—such as autopay, installments, and prepay—help minimize late payments, easing administrative workload and improving cash flow. Modern property management payment solutions support online payment options (satisfying tenants) and automate rent collection, increasing efficiency.

Property managers should adopt these tenant payment solutions to streamline operations and deliver a faster, more efficient experience for themselves and their renters.

Contact us to learn how Forte’s property management payment solutions streamline payment processes and reduce late payments, improving cash flow and satisfying renters.

5 Plug-and-Play Solutions to Modernize Government Payment Processing—Faster, Safer, Simpler

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Does your government agency rely on outdated payment methods like mailing a check or paying in person?

If so, it’s time to upgrade to a modern, digital payment solution that provides the convenient, flexible payment experiences that citizens now expect. Citizens want 24/7, mobile-friendly payment options for municipal services, including utilities, property taxes, car registration, parking tickets and permit fees. The three most popular payment methods are debit/credit cards (80% of survey respondents), digital wallets (60%) and cash (57%). Only 23% of respondents prefer to pay by check.

Many public sector finance leaders recognize the importance of payment modernization to boost efficiency and payer satisfaction while also controlling costs. However, outdated technology, limited budgets and technology knowledge gaps often pose significant obstacles to government payment modernization. That’s where plug-and-play payment solutions come in. They can help agencies overcome these challenges—benefitting governments and the people they serve.

 

3 Barriers to Government Payment Modernization

Local and state government agencies face several challenges to modernizing their payment solutions:

 

1. Outdated technology

Almost two thirds (62%) of public sector finance leaders surveyed agree that legacy technology is the number one barrier to payment innovation. Government agencies often use complex, outdated systems that are incompatible with modern payment technologies. Transitioning from these legacy systems can cause disruption and is often seen as too costly or risky.

State and local agencies face mounting challenges related to outdated systems, including:

  • Core system breakdowns: When legacy core systems can’t handle modern payment technology, agencies must resort to expensive emergency fixes that don’t address the root problems.
  • Knowledge gaps: As legacy app developers and architects retire, agencies are left without staff to manage or repair aging systems.

 

2. Budget and resource constraints

With tight budgets and lean teams, many government agencies find it tough to invest in modern payment systems. Smaller municipalities often struggle with the initial cost and resource-intensive nature of upgrading legacy systems.

More than half (54%) of finance leaders cite budget as a top barrier to payment innovation. On top of that, state and local governments face:

  • Increasing uncertainty: State budgets are impacted by ongoing federal funding changes and widespread agency reductions.
  • Diminished funding: Temporary pandemic-era state aid and infrastructure funding have largely ended, forcing state and local governments to stretch limited resources further.
  • Declining revenue: Declining tax revenue, emergency infrastructure repairs and unforeseen expenses cut into funds earmarked for technology improvements.

 

3. Knowledge gaps

More than three quarters (76%) of public sector finance leaders agree that lack of internal knowledge about emerging technology is holding some departments back. Insufficient digital expertise hampers agencies’ ability to serve the public effectively. Limited in-house IT personnel forces agencies to rely on costly external contractors. Clunky or unreliable payment systems weaken public trust and hurt revenue collection.

 

How can government agencies overcome these hurdles to upgrade their payment systems? Think plug-and-play.

A “plug-and-play” payment solution refers to a payment system or gateway that is designed for easy and quick integration into a government agency’s website, application, or point-of-sale (POS) devices, with minimal technical effort or coding. Think of it like a USB device for your computer—you “plug it in,” and it just works, without requiring complex setup or configuration.

Plug-and-play payment solutions allow government agencies to implement new digital payment solutions quickly, with minimal technical expertise. These user-friendly solutions integrate seamlessly with existing accounting systems and provide modern features and functionality without extensive upfront costs.

 

CSG Forte BillPay

To meet citizen expectations for seamless, instant payment experiences, government agencies need to automate routine tasks through electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP). CSG Forte BillPay is a simple online payment portal that allows citizens to pay bills securely and conveniently. With BillPay, you can accept payments anytime, from any connected device, using flexible payment methods. BillPay is ideal for paying taxes, utilities, fines and fees.

BillPay

  • Generates custom notifications (reminders) and payment confirmations automatically.
  • Offers transaction tools for one-time, scheduled or recurring payments (such as utilities).
  • Integrates with in-person POS devices.
  • Allows citizens to self-serve, saving time.
  • Reduces customer service calls.
  • Decreases billing costs (print and mailing).

 

IVR Payment Processing

IVR payment systems use advanced touch-tone and speech-recognition technology to guide citizens through the payment process over the phone. IVR payment solutions are a convenient way for citizens to pay utility bills, property taxes and fines. CSG’s IVR payment processing system:

  • Is available 24/7 without an internet connection.
  • Is less expensive than payment processing through a contact center agent.
  • Reduces live agent payment-related calls and overhead staffing.

 

POS Devices

Even in this digital age, some people prefer to pay in person. In-person payment processing via a POS device lets people pay in person at local government offices with a card or mobile payment.

CSG Forte offers EMV- and contactless enabled terminals that are user-friendly and secure. Modern, simple POS terminals and readers accept any card or contactless digital wallet to meet your card-present needs.

Our POS devices for government provide:

  • Payment security: PCI, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and validated point to point encryption (P2PE) keep sensitive card data safe.
  • Fraud protection: CSG Forte Protect encryption delivers an extra layer of protection against fraud.
  • Integration with billing systems: Seamlessly connects payment transactions to government billing and accounting platforms.

 

CSG Forte Dex

CSG Forte Dex is a cloud-based, unified payments platform that helps government agencies increase operational efficiency and simplify payments management, including transaction monitoring, dispute management, reporting, analytics and more.

Dex

  • Manages and monitors all payment operations in one location, saving time and money.
  • Provides complete access to payment operations.
  • Quickly address payer needs.
  • Grants refunds.
  • Cancels charges.
  • Includes automated dispute management tools and funding grids that save time by reducing the burden of manual accounting and reconciliations.
  • Gives you real-time insights into payment trends, including transaction breakdowns and payment trends, via reporting dashboards.

 

CSG Forte Checkout Saves Time and Money

Residents in Kinston, North Carolina, pay their utility bills directly to the city government. Prior to partnering with CSG Forte, Kinston residents could pay via phone or in person at a kiosk—but not online. City officials wanted to integrate payment processing into their billing software’s web interface so residents could easily pay their utility bills online.

The city used CSG Forte’s checkout solution to route payers from the city’s website to a secure third-party webpage to complete their transactions. CSG launched an online and IVR utilities billing solution for Kinston using a convenience fee model. CSG’s billing and payments experts provided comprehensive technical support following implementation.

After integrating more electronic payment processing options, Kinston saw 41% year-over-year growth in the number of transactions processed electronically. As a result, Kinston staff now handle less cash and fewer checks, saving time and reducing bank fees. Kinston residents appreciated the ease of making payments through the new system.

 

Modernize and Simplify Government Payment Processing with CSG Forte

Modernizing payment processing to accept digital payment methods increases security, efficiency, cost savings and citizen satisfaction. Implementing CSG Forte’s plug-and-play payment solutions is an effective, affordable way to adopt digital payment solutions to keep up with consumer preferences.

Forte’s government payments platform streamlines payment processing, meeting the needs of today’s citizens by offering a variety of payment options across channels. Government agencies benefit from dedicated support from CSG’s payment experts and their combined decades of industry experience.

Contact us to learn how CSG can help you modernize your government payment solution and simplify payment processing.

Why Now Is the Time to Modernize Government Payments

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“Companies succeed or fail according to whether they can keep up with customer preferences, and payments are no exception.” – USBank.

Want to improve the payment experience at your government agency?

Meet citizen expectations—go digital. People expect their local, county and state governments to offer the same payment convenience and flexibility retailers and other service providers offer. Although an increasing percentage of people prefer digital payments, many government agencies don’t offer them, instead relying on outdated methods like mailing paper checks or paying in person. These traditional approaches are inefficient, prone to errors, vulnerable to check fraud and often frustrate constituents.

To improve efficiency, security and service—and reduce costs—government entities must modernize their payment systems. Keep reading to discover three essential capabilities for government payment processing systems and eight benefits of modernizing your payment system.

 

3 Requirements for Government Payment Processing

Government online payment solutions must be able to:

 

1. Protect constituents from fraud.

Government organizations that collect payments face two major security-related concerns: losing funds and losing public trust. The Association for Financial Professionals reports that 79% of organizations were victims of payments fraud attacks or attempts in 2024. Paper check remains the most fraud-vulnerable payment method, with 63% of organizations reporting check fraud in 2024. Only about one-fifth (22%) of organizations were able to recover 75% or more of the funds lost due to payments fraud in the same year.

Millions of people in the U.S. are affected by data compromises each year—including data breaches, leakage and exposure—resulting in unauthorized threat actors accessing sensitive personal information. One survey found that 58% of consumers believe that brands that get hit with a data breach are not trustworthy, and 70% would stop shopping with a brand that suffered a security incident.

To help constituents feel comfortable paying taxes, penalties or other fees online, you must prioritize cybersecurity and provide secure payment solutions. Government agencies must comply with strict regulations like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), but legacy payment systems often fall short in protecting sensitive payment data and lack up-to-date security measures, exposing payment data to fraud and cyberattacks.

 

2. Accept multiple types of payments.

Your constituents now expect 24/7, mobile-friendly payment options for municipal services, including utilities, property taxes, car registration, parking tickets and permit fees.

Consumer payment preferences shift rapidly. According to a USBank survey, digital wallets—the fourth most popular payment method in 2023—moved up to second place (preferred by 60% of respondents) in 2024, behind debit/credit (80%). Cash (57%) rounded out the top three. More than half (54%) of public sector finance leaders say payment acceptance technologies and consumer preferences change so fast it’s hard to prioritize and keep up with trends.

Your payments platform should allow you to accept multiple types of online payments, including:

 

3. Scale to meet future needs.

The ideal payment processing solution for governments is capable of processing large transactions volumes quickly and smoothly, without delays or disruptions. For example, local governments experience a spike in payments during tax season, and their secure payment solution must be able to accommodate these higher annual demands. Additionally, fast-growing municipalities should be able to meet their new residents’ needs.

Can your legacy payment processing system do all this? If it falls short, it’s time to upgrade to a modern digital solution that delivers what today’s constituents expect.

 

8 Benefits of Modernizing Your Government Payment System

Reliable digital solutions—such as ACH and credit card processing for government agencies—streamline payment operations, keep constituent data secure and scale according to your future needs. Here are eight ways your department could benefit from modernizing payments:

  1. Stronger security and compliance: Modern payment solutions include state-of-the-art encryption and fraud prevention tools and comply with the highest security standards, such as PCI DSS, reducing the risk of data breaches.
  2. Enhanced payer experience, satisfaction and trust: Citizens appreciate the flexibility and convenience of multiple digital payment options, allowing them to choose how and when to pay. People can easily view payment history and receive reminders, supporting financial management. A convenient, secure and frictionless payment experience boosts constituent satisfaction and builds trust in your agency.
  3. Increased efficiency: Streamlined operations allow your personnel to focus on high-value government initiatives instead of spending time processing payments and doing manual accounting and reconciliations.
  4. Reduced errors and administrative burden: Automation eliminates the manual reconciliation processes (associated with outdated accounting systems) that increase errors, fraud risk and operational costs.
  5. Decreased operational costs: Modern payment solutions reduce the need for physical infrastructure, paper billing and manual processing, saving money. Plug-and-play solutions offer a cost-effective, scalable approach that supports sustained cost savings over time.
  6. Expanded revenue streams: Online, interactive voice response (IVR) and kiosk payment systems allow people to pay via credit card, accommodating those who don’t have immediate access to funds. Improved revenue collection and service-fee models help recoup the cost of updating your payment system.
  7. Improved cash flow through: With a faster and simpler payment processing solution, you receive payments quicker.
  8. Increased likelihood of on-time payments: Giving constituents more ways to pay may decrease the likelihood of late payments. Millennials report they are more likely to prioritize paying bills that are easy to pay before taking care of those that are more inconvenient.

Outdated technology and limited budgets often make it challenging for government agencies to modernize their payment systems. Are you ready to find out how modernizing your system can help you, your employees and your constituents.

Contact us to learn how CSG Forte’s government payments platform can help you modernize your government payment solution and simplify payment processing.

Modernizing Municipal Billing: How Unified Digital Platforms Cut Costs & Build Trust

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Outdated Billing Hurts Everyone

Government agencies, especially at the municipal and county levels, often find themselves stuck working with outdated billing systems that hinder efficiency and diminish public trust. These systems—built on decades-old infrastructure—require manual processing, result in higher labor costs and frustrate both staff and residents. For citizens, late notices, confusing bills and limited payment options breed dissatisfaction. For governments, these legacy processes mean wasted staff hours, delayed reconciliations and rising costs.

The solution? A government-specific unified, digital bill payment platform that modernizes workflows across departments while enhancing transparency and customer satisfaction. With tools like mobile-friendly portals, automated reconciliation and secure payment processing, modern platforms not only improve operations—they help build trust with constituents. Municipalities can do more with fewer resources, while giving residents the seamless digital experiences they’ve come to expect.

 

Pain Point: Staff Shortages & Rising Costs

Small and mid-sized governments are under increasing pressure to deliver more with less. The Great Resignation, retirements and public sector hiring challenges have all contributed to workforce shortages that make it difficult to keep up with daily payment processing, reconciliation and reporting.

Manual workflows compound the problem. When payments must be logged by hand, spreadsheets updated manually or paper checks deposited at a bank, staff are bogged down by tasks that could easily be automated. Worse, the risk of error increases with every manual step.

A more-in-one solution like Forte’s BillPay simplifies this burden by automating routine tasks—such as sending eBills, applying payments to the correct account and reconciling end-of-day reports. The platform integrates across departments so that finance, permitting, courts and utilities are no longer working in silos. This not only saves time but also minimizes the need for staff to learn multiple systems or enter data multiple times.

 

What a “More-in-One” BillPay Platform Looks Like

A lot of governments accept online payments, but the systems are often piecemeal. One tool for water bills. Another for court fines. A third for permitting. The result? Confusion, data silos and extra costs.

Forte’s BillPay solution consolidates those fragmented systems into a single platform. Whether it’s utility billing, taxes, licensing or court payments, all payments flow through a unified interface with configurable workflows and real-time reporting.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

  • One resident login to pay multiple bill types
  • Mobile-first interfaces that support multiple languages
  • Automated payment reminders, late fee notifications and follow-ups
  • Built-in convenience fee support, helping cities recoup costs
  • Text-to-pay and email link features for on-the-go convenience
  • Integration with ERP/accounting tools to reduce reconciliation workload

For example, Dimmit County, Texas, implemented Forte’s Text to Pay feature and saw a 3x increase in weekly payments in just the first week. Call volumes dropped, errors decreased and customers reported faster, easier payments—even from their phones.

And because Forte is PCI Level 1 compliant, all transactions meet the highest standards of data security.

 

How to Get Started: Quick Wins and Long-Term Payoffs

Digital transformation might sound expensive, but it often starts with a few simple changes—like switching to emailed bills or offering multiple payment methods. From there, you can scale up to fully integrated portals and automation.

Forte works with your existing systems or helps migrate you to more modern tools. And with hands-on support, development flexibility and years of experience in government payments, our team becomes an extension of yours.

Here are some quick wins to look for:

  • Offer online and mobile payments with email/text notifications.
  • Reduce staff time with auto-posting and real-time updates.
  • Use dashboards to flag payment patterns and missed deadlines.
  • Pilot text-to-pay in one department (like courts or utilities).
  • Train staff in reconciliation and reporting automation.

The payoff? Reduced calls, faster collections, less manual work—and a noticeable boost in public satisfaction.

 

It’s Time to Modernize the Way You Collect

Modern billing isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s a strategic move that helps local governments do more with less. With Forte’s unified digital platform, you’re not just collecting payments. You’re saving staff time, improving public trust and aligning departments under one enterprise-ready system.

You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. But you do need a partner who understands the complexity—and can make it simple. Start where you are and scale when you’re ready.

Ready to explore how Forte BillPay can work for your city or county? Talk to a Forte expert today.

Unlocking the Future: How Cloud Payments Can Transform Governments

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Remember the last time your finance team had to chase a missing payment across three different systems? That patchwork of mainframe screens, desktop terminals and bolt-on gateways once felt “good enough,” but it’s now a budget-draining anchor. Siloed accounting, recording and payments tools drive up transaction costs, lengthen close-out cycles and frustrate constituents who expect mobile-first self-service.

A unified, cloud-based platform lets cities migrate on their own schedule and add modern channels like text-to-pay—all while keeping day-to-day operations humming.

But before you can modernize, you have to understand exactly where you stand. Many local governments operate on a tangle of legacy tools that have been patched together over decades—each department managing its own vendor, system and reconciliation process. The result is complexity that costs more than it saves. The first step toward a streamlined, cloud-based solution is a clear-eyed audit of your current workflows, systems and costs. That’s where transformation really begins.

 

Step 1: Audit Your Current Workflows and Fees

Before moving a single byte, catalog every point where money enters, moves or exits your systems:

  1. Revenue streams: taxes, utilities, courts, permits.
  2. Touchpoints: walk-in counter, IVR, web portal, lockbox service.
  3. Reconciliation path: payment gateway to general ledger
  4. Hidden fees: PCI non-compliance, chargebacks, paper checks.

Quick win: use Forte’s Payment-Processing FAQs to translate technical gateway language into finance-team speak, then attach dollar figures to every manual step (e.g., staff minutes per payment, cost per paper bill). These numbers will become ammunition for your business-case presentation.

 

Step 2: Build the Business Case

Upgrading core infrastructure competes with roads, parks and public safety, so your pitch must balance risk reduction, cost savings and constituent experience.

  • Compliance risk: EY flags “policy and regulatory complexity” as a top-10 public-sector risk for 2025; failure to meet new PCI or NACHA rules can trigger fines and erode public trust.
  • Direct savings: a consolidated platform eliminates duplicate licensing, reduces payment card interchange with least-cost routing and cuts paper/postage.
  • Revenue acceleration: self-service portals and automated reminders make your revenue collections more efficient and predictable.

Pair these benefits with the gaps you uncovered in Step 1. Use Forte BillPay screenshots to show executives how a resident would see all obligations—utilities, parking tickets, pet licenses—in one cart. Finish with a three-year ROI table and a “soft costs” line for staff hours returned to strategic work.

 

Step 3: Implement Best Practices

Moving off a mainframe doesn’t require a “big-bang” weekend cutover. Follow a phased approach instead:

  1. Choose a pilot department: Courts or utilities often have clear revenue cycles and motivated stakeholders.
  2. Stand up parallel processing: Keep legacy billing live while routing a subset of payments through Forte’s Online Payments APIs.
  3. Automate reconciliation first: Real-time ledger sync lets finance validate totals daily, building confidence before you add new channels.
  4. Add resident touchpoints: Enable emailed invoices, text-to-pay and mobile wallet options.
  5. Train & Communicate: Publish how-tos, hold staff Q&A sessions and post banners on the city website explaining the new portal.
  6. Deactivate legacy screens—slowly: After two full billing cycles with near-zero variance, sunset the old cashiering module and reassign staff.

Throughout, lean on Forte’s Complete Payments Solution for tokenization, point-to-point encryption and convenience-fee handling—so finance, IT and legal can check their boxes without separate vendors.

 

Step 4: Measure Success and Iterate

Modernization is a journey, not a finish line. Slalom’s 2025 Government Outlook urges agencies to adopt continuous-improvement loops that marry operational data with resident feedback.

Track these KPIs quarterly:

Share of e-payments

  • Pre-Modernization: 42%
  • Target After Phase 1: 65%
  • Target After Phase 2: 85%

Days-to-close books

  • Pre-Modernization: 10
  • Target After Phase 1: 5
  • Target After Phase 2: 2

Chargeback rate

  • Pre-Modernization: 0.35%
  • Target After Phase 1: 0.25%
  • Target After Phase 2: 0.20%

Average call time (billing)

  • Pre-Modernization: 6 min
  • Target After Phase 1: 4 min
  • Target After Phase 2: 2 min

Use Forte dashboards to export metrics directly to your ERP or BI tool. Survey residents on ease-of-use after each phase, then feed insights into the product backlog—perhaps a Spanish-language chatbot or pay-by-QR kiosk at city hall.

 

Book a Modernization Workshop with CSG Forte

Hundreds of local governments appear on the annual GovTech 100 list, proving that digital transformation is now the rule, not the exception.

Ready to join them? Schedule a no-cost payment modernization workshop with our government payments team. We’ll:

  • Map your current payment flow end-to-end
  • Quantify hidden fees and manual costs
  • Draft a phased migration timeline tailored to your staffing levels
  • Deliver an executive-ready ROI deck you can present at the next council meeting

Talk to a Forte payment strategist and start turning that legacy mainframe into a modern, cloud-native engine for resident satisfaction and fiscal resilience.

How Online Payments Processing Can Help Healthcare Providers Improve Efficiency and Patient Satisfaction

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The healthcare payment landscape is shifting. With high-deductible insurance plans on the rise, patients are now footing more—or even all—of the bill. This increased cost to patients often means collecting patient payments is more difficult. To maximize collections, healthcare providers must reduce payment barriers and friction by offering a variety of flexible, convenient online payment options.

Patients expect paying their medical bill to be as easy and convenient as shopping on Amazon, and many prefer to pay online. One survey found that most patients (62%) are now using online portals to pay their medical bills. Healthcare consumers in the United States ranked availability (i.e., the freedom to use all types of payment methods) as the most important factor in the medical bill payment process, according to Statista.

Many healthcare payment systems don’t create effortless experiences. Instead, medical bill payment processes are painful for patients. A survey found that 54% of U.S. consumers experienced at least one problem during the payment process when paying for healthcare-related services, and 21% had difficulty navigating the payment process. Limited payment options and burdensome payment processes frustrate patients and may lead to churn. More than half (63%) of patients consider switching healthcare providers if they are not satisfied with how they pay.

Many healthcare organizations also struggle with cumbersome payment processes. Managing multiple payment methods and providers across offices and facilities is challenging. Healthcare payment processing is often manual, inefficient and prone to errors, increasing costs and creating cash flow problems. Payment failures that lead to unpaid balances can delay care, ultimately harming both the patient’s well-being and the healthcare organization’s financial health. A recent survey found that more than half of healthcare payment leaders describe payment and claims processing delays as a threat to operations, and 80% are convinced that improving the efficiency of these processes is vital to the success of their organizations. Yet only 53% of leaders report adequately automating payment workflows. Implementing automated payment processing eliminates repetitive manual tasks, reducing human error and giving office staff more time to focus on higher-value activities.

Payment orchestration solutions bring all your healthcare payment processes together on one platform, streamlining operations and simplifying patient payments. Automated payment processing increases efficiency, patient satisfaction and revenue.

 

What Is Healthcare Payment Orchestration?

Payment orchestration streamlines healthcare payment operations, simplifying patient payment processing for medical practices, health systems and strategic health partners. Orchestration allows healthcare providers to easily manage different payment methods across facilities.

A payment orchestration platform is a technology solution that acts as a central hub for managing and automating payment operations. Payment orchestration integrates an organization’s payment gateways, processors, banks and acquirers into a single platform. This platform then intelligently routes and manages transactions across these various payment service providers (PSPs). A payment orchestration platform acts like the conductor of a payment symphony, harmonizing various payment methods, gateways and processors to facilitate smooth and efficient transactions.

 

How Payment Orchestration Works

  • Initiation: A patient selects a payment method from the available options, such as credit or debit cards, digital wallets, eChecks or Automated Clearing House (ACH), and initiates the payment.
  • Routing: The payment orchestration system routes transactions to the best-performing payment processor based on factors like transaction type and cost, currency, customer location, response times and success rates.
  • Processing: The payment services provider (PSP) or acquirer processes the payment, which may be approved or denied due to errors, outages or declines of authorization. If the payment fails, the payment orchestration platform automatically re-routes the payment to an alternative gateway or acquirer. Once the payment is approved, the transaction is confirmed and completed.
  • Clearing and reconciliation: The funds are transferred between PSPs/acquirers and the payment orchestration platform, which automatically reconciles the transaction.
  • Reporting/data analysis: The platform collects and analyzes transaction data to uncover insights in payment trends, customer behavior and operational performance—enabling smarter decisions and more effective payment strategies.

 

Benefits of Payment Orchestration for Healthcare Providers

Payment orchestration optimizes collections and enhances the patient experience by offering flexible payment options and quicker transactions, ultimately increasing provider revenue. Payment orchestration supports:

  • Operational efficiency: Payment orchestration streamlines payment processing by automating tasks like routing, reconciliation and reporting. Automated payment processing saves time, minimizes errors, speeds up transactions, reduces administrative costs and allows back-office teams to focus on higher-value activities.
  • Better customer experience: Payment orchestration enables faster, more dependable transactions while supporting a variety of payment methods to accommodate patient preferences. Payment orchestration platforms remove friction and complexity from the healthcare payment process, delivering a more convenient, flexible, transparent and secure payment experience.
  • Increased revenue: Healthcare providers can improve collections by offering a variety of payment methods, making it easier and more convenient to pay. A study found that 23% of Millennials will pay bills with the least payment friction first, prioritizing easier-to-pay bills. Furthermore, by maximizing payment acceptance rates and minimizing declines, payment orchestration helps businesses boost revenue.
  • Higher transaction success rates: By working with multiple payment service providers, businesses can optimize routing so transactions are processed through the most dependable channels—boosting transaction success rates and reducing payment failures. Rerouting failed transactions to another PSP means that a single PSP outage (resulting in payment failure) doesn’t prevent patients from accessing care from telehealth or other subscription service.
  • Lower costs: Orchestration significantly reduces payment processing fees by intelligently routing transactions. Analyzing factors like transaction size and provider fees to determine the most cost-effective route results in substantial savings over time. Payment orchestration also saves money by reducing integration costs with processors.
  • Scalability: Payment orchestration allows healthcare organizations to quickly and easily add or switch payment options and PSPs, scaling faster.
  • Fraud prevention and security: Payment orchestration platforms often include advanced tools for detecting fraud and protecting data. By centralizing payment data, businesses can apply machine learning and analytics to identify and prevent fraudulent activity.

 

What to Look for in a Payment Orchestration Platform

Choose a payment orchestration platform/vendor that provides:

  • Security and compliance: Security shouldn’t add friction to the customer experience by requiring manual card entry or extra authentication steps. Choose a payment solutions provider that uses tokenization, reducing the risk of data breaches while eliminating the need to repeatedly enter sensitive card details.
  • The right vendor should also help minimize payment card industry (PCI) compliance scope. By reducing or removing payment data stored on your healthcare payment systems, you lower the risk of data breaches and ease the burden of PCI compliance. Look for features like tokenization and hosted payment pages that shift compliance liability to the vendor.
  • Personalized customer experiences: Choose a payment solution that can offer customized payment options. Does the platform enable patients to easily use their most recent payment methods?
  • Training and support: Comprehensive training and reliable support are essential when choosing a payment orchestration provider. Effective training equips your team to confidently navigate and maximize the platform, accelerating onboarding and minimizing errors. Be sure to review available resources—such as online tutorials, documentation and access to dedicated customer success representatives. Dependable support services are important for prompt resolution of technical issues to minimize system downtime. Clarify details around support hours, engineer expertise and service level agreements (SLAs) to set clear expectations.

 

Simplify Healthcare Payment Processing with CSG Forte

Payment orchestration streamlines healthcare payment processing, increasing operational efficiency and enhancing patient experience and revenue.

CSG Forte offers a suite of payment solutions that manage the entire payment lifecycle on a single platform, from payments and security to support and self-service. Forte processes online and mobile payments, including credit/debit, ACH and digital wallet. Forte’s payment solutions process $164B+ in payments annually, simplifying payments and boosting revenue for more than 150,000 merchants.

Why choose Forte for your healthcare payment processing?

Security and compliance. Protect sensitive data across the entire platform with built-in Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance and the highest security standards in the industry.

  • Tokenization
  • Point-to-point encryption (P2PE)
  • Hosted payment pages reduce PCI scope
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant

Connects with your favorite tools. With a vast suite of application programming interfaces (APIs), our payment solutions integrate smoothly with your existing website, payment applications, processes and software architecture. Easily integrate Forte with your electronic health record or patient engagement systems.

Only pay for what you use. With our platform-as-a-service model, you can activate capabilities and deactivate them as needed. You won’t pay for what you don’t use.

Learn more about Forte’s payment solutions for healthcare providers—and how we can help optimize your healthcare payment processing.

When “Good Enough” Costs More Than You Think: The Hidden Costs of Medical Manual Payment Processing

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It starts with a clipboard.

One front desk associate prints the day’s patient balances. Another manually logs a card payment into the billing system while fielding a call from a confused patient who’s trying to pay over the phone. A third staff member stays late to reconcile the day’s transactions—only to discover that two payments were misapplied, and one was never recorded at all.

These aren’t just minor inefficiencies. They’re signs of a larger problem: the hidden cost of manual payment processing.

While many healthcare practices have adopted electronic health records and patient portals, their payment workflows often remain stuck in the past. Paper-based systems, fragmented tools and disjointed workflows might seem manageable on the surface—but behind the scenes, they’re quietly draining revenue, increasing staff burden and frustrating patients.

In this blog, we’ll explore the true cost of manual payment processing in medical practices—from administrative overhead to compliance risks and missed payments—and show how modernizing with a partner like Forte can help your team reclaim both time and revenue.

 

The Administrative Drain: Labor Costs + Human Error

Manual payment processing may seem like a small operational detail—but it adds up quickly in both time and dollars. For healthcare staff, tasks like printing and mailing invoices, logging payments by hand, chasing down balances by phone and manually reconciling records can consume hours of the workweek.

According to the JAMA Network, administrative costs account for between 25% and 31% of total healthcare spending in the U.S., much of it tied to inefficient processes like manual billing and collections (source). For a busy outpatient practice, even just a few minutes per transaction can translate into dozens of hours lost per month.

Beyond time, the margin for error increases with every manual touchpoint. A typo in a patient’s account number. A misapplied payment. A billing code written incorrectly. These small mistakes can snowball into compliance issues, delays in reimbursement or incorrect balances being sent to collections—damaging both revenue and patient trust.

And when multiple systems are in play—billing software, card readers, spreadsheets, etc.—the burden on staff only grows. Instead of focusing on patient care or front-desk service, staff are stuck acting as human bridges between disconnected tools.

Here are just a few of the most common manual payment tasks that cost practices time and money:

  • Printing and mailing paper statements
  • Taking payments over the phone or in person
  • Manually keying in credit card numbers
  • Cross-referencing EHR and payment systems for accuracy
  • Reconciling mismatched payments at day’s end
  • Following up on past-due accounts via phone or email

These processes might seem routine, but they quietly chip away at staff efficiency and operational profitability. In a field where time is money—and burnout is high—manual payments are one cost center many practices can’t afford to ignore.

 

The Patient Experience Gap: Inconvenience = Unpaid Bills

Today’s healthcare consumers expect the same convenience from their doctor’s office that they get from their favorite retailers and streaming services. When it comes to billing, clunky processes—like paper statements, limited hours for payment, or phone-only options—don’t just frustrate patients. They reduce the chances of getting paid at all.

Globally, the healthcare market is predicted to reach $54.8 billion by 2030, and a 2023 survey indicated that 62% of healthcare consumers prefer patient portals for settling medical bills. The high cost of many modern medical procedures means that patients who can’t pay immediately—or who forget once they leave the office—are more likely to let a bill lapse.

Manual systems also create unnecessary friction. Patients may be unsure of what they owe, when they owe it, or how to pay. Without automated reminders, flexible options, or user-friendly payment channels, even well-intentioned patients can fall behind.

Offering digital-first, patient-centric options in your healthcare organization, such as CSG Forte BillPay, can dramatically increase payment speed and satisfaction. These include:

  • Text-to-pay: Patients receive a secure link by SMS and pay in seconds
  • Online portals: Clear, centralized access to bills and payment history
  • Auto-pay: Reduce churn and improve on-time collections

CSG Forte’s Engage payments platform, for example, allows providers to offer installment payment options tailored to patient needs—without burdening staff with manual setup or tracking. That flexibility improves not only collections, but also patient loyalty.

In an era where patients are choosing providers based on ease of experience—not just clinical care—billing is part of your brand. Making payments simple isn’t just good service; it’s good business.

 

The Revenue Leakage You Can’t See: Delays, Denials and Write-Offs

Revenue loss doesn’t always come with a flashing warning sign. In many practices, it trickles out slowly—through payment delays, missed follow-ups, and balances that quietly slip into write-off territory. The culprit is often hiding in plain sight: manual processes.

When staff are managing payments across multiple systems—or tracking balances in spreadsheets and paper files—it’s easy for critical steps to fall through the cracks. A balance that isn’t collected at the time of service. A reminder that was never sent. A patient who intended to pay but got tired of navigating a clunky process.

These small lapses compound over time. A 2023 report from the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) found that the average medical practice collects just 55% of patient balances after a visit—down from 70% a decade ago. The decline is largely attributed to rising out-of-pocket costs and outdated billing methods that don’t match patient expectations or behavior. (source)

Even when patients do want to pay, the friction of manual workflows can be enough to cause delays. And delayed payments mean increased days in A/R, higher write-off rates, and less predictable cash flow—all of which put pressure on both finance teams and patient experience teams.

By automating billing, reminders, and payment options, healthcare practices can:

  • Reduce the number of balances that slip through the cracks
  • Accelerate revenue collection
  • Minimize administrative rework
  • Improve overall financial visibility

With Forte’s unified payments platform, providers gain access to real-time reporting, automated follow-ups, and flexible payment options—all designed to improve collections without adding complexity.

When payments run on autopilot, staff are freed up, patients are more likely to pay, and revenue becomes more predictable. The result? Less leakage, more lift.

 

Modernize Your Workflow. Maximize Your Results

The challenges of manual payment processing aren’t just about inefficiency—they’re about what your practice could be gaining if those inefficiencies were eliminated.

That’s where Forte comes in.

Our healthcare payment solutions are built to help providers streamline revenue operations without sacrificing flexibility or compliance. Whether you’re a specialty clinic, a multi-location provider, or a community health center, Forte can help you take payments off the clipboard and into the cloud.

With Forte, you can:

  • Offer flexible installment plans, helping patients manage out-of-pocket costs while improving collections.
  • Automate recurring billing and ACH payments, reducing administrative workload and ensuring steady cash flow.
  • Strengthen compliance and security with PCI DSS–compliant tools that tokenize and encrypt payment data.
  • Integrate seamlessly with your billing system, minimizing double entry and reducing errors.

Our platform combines reliability (99.99% uptime), deep industry experience, and white-glove support to ensure that implementation is smooth—and impact is immediate.

Manual payment systems may seem “good enough” until you see the real cost in wasted time, lost revenue, and patient dissatisfaction. The good news? You don’t have to settle for outdated processes. With Forte, you can future-proof your payment workflows and refocus on what matters most: delivering excellent care.

Don’t let outdated payment processes hold your practice back. Let’s talk about how Forte’s payments platform for healthcare providers can help you reduce costs, improve patient satisfaction, and simplify your payment operations—securely and seamlessly. Contact our experts to schedule a personalized demo to see what modern healthcare payments can do for you.