Starting Friday, August 27, 2021, the City of Union will begin charging a 1.5% processing fee on all credit/debit card transactions over the automated phone system and on the website. The fees for credit/debit card transactions are costing the City over $200,000 per year. We have been absorbing every dime of the fees from January, 2010, when online/automated telephone payments began, until now. Our most recent bill from our online processor was over $18,000.00. This is an average percentage of 3.31% per transaction. If we had charged 1.5% on that amount, we would have only recouped a small portion of the fee. Therefore, the City is NOT profiting from this; there is still the additional $10,000+ per month that the City is absorbing. To go further, only 26% of the payments we receive were made online for the month of July. The expenses related to online payments are considered when deciding on utility rates. It is unfair to consider raising rates on 100% of our customers, when only 26% of them are creating this expense. As a reminder, this is the fifth year that electric rates have remained the same. There are many other ways to pay a utility bill, if the convenience of an online payment is not worth 1.5%, the easiest is bank draft, this is free to do. We also provide addressed envelopes, by request, if you want to mail in your payment. As always the drive thru and lobby is open for business and the night drop can also be used if you cannot come in during business hours.
We are still receiving phone calls from customers reporting a suspicious phone call demanding immediate payment for utility services. We want to assure you that the City of Union will never contact you to demand an immediate payment for services or threaten to disconnect your services. Also, we will not require you to make a payment via prepaid debit card. Please do not give out personal financial or electronic account information if someone contacts you demanding payment.
If you receive this type of phone call be sure to hang up and quickly report suspicious calls to law enforcement authorities.
Situated in the Upstate Region of South Carolina near the Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan area,
Union is a progressive city with a proud heritage and vision for the future. This web site has been created for the citizens, visitors, and newcomers to The City of Union. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.
101 Sharpe Avenue
P.O. Box 987
Union, SC 29379
Phone: 864-429-1700
Fax: 864-429-1780
"The City of Union will at all times provide quality services to all
citizens equitably and in a fair, responsive, efficient and caring
manner. We value employees who exhibit moral values that stress
the importance of treating co-workers and our citizens with respect and fairness. We pledge to communicate and provide leadership
effectively equitably with all our citizens, organizations and
community at large as we try to develop and maintain a high quality
of sustainable living in the City of Union."
The City of Union supports and promotes fair and equitable housing for all its citizens.
The State of South Carolina enacted the South Carolina Fair Housing Law in 1989. The City of Union supports and promotes fair and equitable housing for all of its citizens. The council rejects discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, disability, and/or familial status in the sale, rental or provision of other housing services.
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