Lori Hutchinson said in a telephone interview KPCpay is a secure and electronic method to schedule and pay child support. The electronic route is a free service and serves employers as well as employees.
“As we go to a more paperless society it will be more efficient and better for the individuals,” Hutchinson said.
The service has also been embraced by Kansas families, she said.
Advantages include: scheduling support payments in advance to ensure timely receipt; avoiding the cost of stamps, checks and envelopes; avoiding lost or delayed mail; the ability to receive a printed confirmation immediately, showing the transaction made. Managing the KPCpay accounts online allows clients access 24 hours a day.
KPCpay is a secure, electronic method to schedule and pay support. Support payments can be made from existing bank accounts or with credit or debit cards, Hutchinson said. Payments can be pre-scheduled for up to 60 days in advance.
With a single, free enrollment, employers and individuals who can make support payments can begin to manage their payments, payment schedules and track payment disbursements online, she said. More information is available at www.kspaycenter.com.
In 2008, the Kansas Payment Center introduced a new electronic alternative for parents who receive support. A VISA branded debit card was added as a way to receive support quickly and safely. With KPCpay, the KPC offers electronic support payment options as well.
“In Kansas we’re not first, but we’re following the trends,” she said. “There are some states that are mandating electronic payments, but Kansas does not. The state is easing its way into it.”
The employer does not need any special software, she said.
The Kansas Payment Center, located in Topeka, is the payment process center for all Kansas child support, maintenance and other support related payments.
Besides making payments by electronic check from an existing bank account, payers can also make child support payments with credit and debit card, but there is an additional administrative fee charged, she said. The convenience fee ranges from 2.43 percent to 6 percent.
The new program started in June.
The individual registers by email and there are security codes in place. Recipients like it because it directly places the payment in their account at a standard time.
“The delivery of support payments helps one out of four children,” she said, adding that 200,000 Kansas families rely on child support services, which pay for food, medicine and school. “It is important they get their payments safely and on time.”
The Kansas Payment Center operates under the supervision of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and Kansas Office of Judicial Administration.
“Their (employees’) job is to receive and disburse payments that helps taxpayers and it helps Kansas kids,” Hutchinson said.