Use of Citypay as Payment Service Provider (FOI)

Request

What fees are paid to Citypay for payment processing when making payments to the Government of Jersey? eg Parking Fines

A

What is the £ fee per transaction and the percentage charged?

B

How long have Citypay been the provider?

C

Was there a tender process and when is it up for renewal?

D

If there was a tender process, how was the provider chosen?

E

When is the contract up for renewal?

F

What is the total revenue collected through Citypay in 2020?

Response

A

This information is exempt under Article 33 (Commercial Interests) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 because details of the transaction fees and percentages charged are considered commercially sensitive.

Article 33 is a qualified exemption; therefore, a public interest test has been applied and is shown at the end of this response.

B

The table below provides the information requested regarding Government of Jersey (‘GOJ’) sections who currently use Citypay.

C to E

The GOJ did not engage in a formal tender process before engaging the services of Citypay as a Payment Service Provider.  

All Citypay contracts are created for an initial 12-month period and are automatically renewed until one of the parties decides to terminate the contract.

F 

Article applied

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public interest test

The release of the transaction fees and percentage rates (‘fees’) could potentially disadvantage Citypay and the Government of Jersey’s (‘GOJ’) ability to retain commercial advantage in any future tender process.

This could also result in the GOJ’s inability to secure best value for the taxpayer and this will likely prejudice the Government as its bargaining power decreases.

It is in the public interest to be made aware of any fees being charged by Citypay in relation to online transactions. However, we consider that the likely prejudices to Citypay, the Government and the taxpayer should this information be released outweigh the argument that the release is in the public interest.