​​​​​​​​Cashless payments begin January 1, 2021

Taxes and Building Division fees

For safer financial transactions among residents, business-owners, and employees, effective January 1, 2021, the City will collect property taxes and Building Division fees through the following methods, as cash payments will no longer be accepted:

• Pre-authorized payments
• Online banking
• Phone banking
• In-person payments through personal banking branches
• In-person debit-card payments
• In-person credit-card payments (Building fees only)

Why is the City not accepting cash payments for taxes and Building fees?

The City continuously explores options to enhance processes and provide services that are more efficient. The adoption of safer payment methods for high-value transactions is one such step.

Eliminating the need to handle large sums of cash is safer. It reduces processing time and line-ups at counter, risk of counterfeit bills, and health concerns of handing physical currency. The City will have the following payment options: ​

When was this decided and when are the new cashless payments effective?

On June 24, 2020 City Council approved a report on this initiative. Read more about this initiative​.

Starting January 1, 2021, the City will not accept cash for property taxes and Building Division fees.

Were many people using cash to pay?

Not overall in number of transactions, but the amounts were of higher value. Approximately 2.3% of property owners made payments using cash through Service Brampton at City Hall. The remainder of property owners made payments in the form of pre-authorized tax payments (PTP), online banking, telephone banking or cheques.

Approximately 11% of Building Division customers made payments using cash. The remainder of customers paid with cheques, debit cards or credit cards.

Will this be done for other payments e.g. Recreation programs, parking fees etc.?

Not at this time. To ensure accessibility to groups like youth and seniors, these changes will not apply to payment methods for Recreation, POA court fees, Animal Services and Performing Arts. This may be studied again in future for a further process enhancement.

Why did City choose to stop cash for these but kept others still open for cash payments?

The City reviewed all payments and identified those areas where cash payment transactions are low but are of a higher amount. This will ensure an easier transition with minimal impact on customers. Property taxes and Building division fees were the two identified for a transition into cashless payments.

Why make these changes when City has other priorities with the pandemic?

The plan towards cashless payments was underway prior to the pandemic. It is aligned with City Council’s priority of being a Well-Run and Healthy and Safe City. With COVID-19, we saw that more people were comfortable to use alternate methods of accessing City services.

If property owners still prefer to use cash, they can pay their taxes using cash through the local branches of their financial institutions. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​