The City of Columbia announced on November 20th that utility customers now have the option of paying their bills at Walmart.
According to a press release, the new option allows anyone to pay their bill at any participating Walmart in the country.
From Walmart, the bill will reach the city’s utility billing system in less than thirty minutes.
City of Columbia Treasurer Chelsea Miller said that this another step in providing more options for people to pay their utility bills.
“Well, not everybody has internet access. We’ve learned that the hard way in this time of a pandemic and accessibility is a real challenge,” said Miller
Columbia’s provider used for internet payments, Paymentus, added Walmart to their network.
Miller said that because of that development, the city tested it out and added it as a payment option.
According to Miller, customers that have paid any type of bill at Walmart before will have to choose the “new biller” so that the same-day payment option is a choice. For anyone paying a bill for the first time at Walmart, they should let the customer services representative at Walmart know they are paying for City of Columbia, Missouri Utilities.
Paying a utility bill at Walmart will have a one dollar and fifty cent next day payment convenience fee or a two dollar instant payment option.
There are other no-fee payment options, including paying online, over the phone, by auto draft or mail.