Approve the policy before opening accounts

Place online-payment authorization, accepted payment categories, refund rules, chargeback responsibility, and any resident-paid fee on a Council agenda. Ask the Borough solicitor to review the final policy and disclosures before launch.

• Name the Borough officials authorized to create and administer merchant accounts.
• Confirm whether the elected Tax Collector will participate and which tax payments may be accepted.
• Keep in-person, mail, and drop-box methods available as no-online-fee alternatives.

Set the 2027 refuse-bag rules

Council must set the number of bags in each pack, price per pack, purchase limits, eligibility, replacement policy, and whether online buyers pick up bags or receive another approved form of distribution.

• Recommended starting workflow: online payment, provider receipt, and in-person pickup with identification.
• Assign who marks each order fulfilled so a receipt cannot be used twice.
• Decide how senior, commercial, vacant-property, and multi-unit rates will be handled.

Approve the bulk-item QR pickup workflow

Council and Public Works should approve eligible bulk items, prices, pickup rules, and the one-use scan process before residents can receive a valid QR label.

• Create a pickup record and release the printable QR label only after the payment provider confirms a completed payment.
• Place only an opaque pickup token in the QR code—never the resident’s name, address, email, or payment information.
• Resident direction: print and cut out the label, place it inside a clear Ziploc-style bag, and securely tape or safety-pin the bag to the item with the code dry, flat, uncovered, and facing the street.
• Residents without a printer—or anyone needing help—may visit the Borough Office at 600 Chestnut Street, Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; staff can print the label.
• Give Public Works an authenticated scan page that shows approved, pending, or collected status; records pickup; and warns if a code has already been used.

Choose the payment processor and fee model

Ask the Borough bank and at least one government-payment processor for written pricing. A PayPal Business account can support PayPal, eligible Venmo checkout, and major cards, but the current PayPal agreement generally prohibits adding a surcharge simply for accepting PayPal.

Create the Borough merchant account

Create a PayPal Business account in the Borough’s legal name, not a personal PayPal or Venmo account. The authorized official should be prepared with the Borough EIN, legal address, bank information, government identification, and Council authorization requested during verification.

• Use a Borough-controlled email address and strong unique password.
• Enable multifactor authentication for at least two authorized officials.
• Link the approved Borough depository account and complete identity/business verification.
• Do not place the secret key in the HTML file, an email, or a public document.

Create and test the payment connection

After the business account is approved, create PayPal developer sandbox and live credentials. Connect the public client ID and private secret through secure server settings. Request or confirm card acceptance and enable Venmo as an eligible checkout funding source.

• Start in sandbox mode; use only PayPal test accounts and test card numbers.
• Set the approved refuse bag-pack price and pickup text.
• Keep all convenience or service fees at $0 until the processor and solicitor approve the exact method.
• Never ask residents to type card or bank numbers directly into a Borough form.

Define accounting and reconciliation

Before launch, map each payment category to the proper Borough fund and general-ledger account. Determine how the office will record gross payment, processor fee, net deposit, refund, and chargeback without combining funds.

• Refuse payments → approved Refuse Fund account.
• Sewer payments → approved Sewer Maintenance Fund account.
• Taxes → the Tax Collector’s approved workflow and depository account.
• Other payments → a short approved list with a required invoice/reference number.
• Reconcile provider transactions to bank deposits and office records every business day.

Run a controlled acceptance test

Use a written test sheet and have two Borough officials verify each result before public release.

• PayPal, Venmo on a mobile phone, Visa, Mastercard, debit card, cancellation, decline, and duplicate-click tests.
• Correct and incorrect sewer/account references; tax year and amount review; bag quantity and price.
• Provider confirmation and printable receipt; office lookup; refund; chargeback notice; bag pickup and fulfillment marking.
• iPhone, Android, iPad, desktop, keyboard-only use, and screen-reader labels.

Connect PAYDUPONTPA.net and enable HTTPS

After the portal passes testing and receives final approval, connect PAYDUPONTPA.net to the approved hosting account using the exact DNS records supplied by the host.

• Use the hosting provider’s assigned DNS records; do not guess or copy records from another domain.
• Enable a valid SSL certificate and confirm that https://paydupontpa.net opens without a security warning.
• Redirect www.paydupontpa.net to the main address and keep one permanent canonical address.
• Keep the portal in setup mode and out of search results until payment, receipt, refund, accounting, and Public Works QR tests are complete.
• Add a clear PAYDUPONTPA.net payment link on dupontpa.gov when the portal is approved for public use.

Pilot, publish, and monitor

Begin with refuse bags or sewer payments for a short pilot before adding real-estate taxes. Publish the approved fee disclosure, privacy notice, refund policy, office contact, and no-fee alternatives. Review the first deposits daily and report results to Council.

• Do not advertise a payment as complete until the processor returns a completed transaction.
• Give residents a Borough reference and the provider confirmation number.
• Keep account credentials out of shared spreadsheets and ordinary email.