ANSWERS TO THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT

CityPay Website

Why is there an extra charge for paying with a credit or debit card?

The City of New York offers multiple payment options. As a convenience to you, the City of New York accepts credit or debit cards. If you choose to pay with a credit or debit card, you will be charged a fee of 2% of the payment amount. This fee is nonrefundable. You will see this amount before you check out. The fee will be shown as a separate charge on your credit or debit card statement, and the New York City Department of Finance will be the merchant. If you pay by eCheck, you will NOT be charged a fee.

I'm having trouble viewing this website.

You must use Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 11 and higher or current versions of Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Google Chrome to make a payment on this site. If you are having trouble making a payment or viewing this website, please check your browser to make sure it is compatible with our website. If your browser is not compatible, you can update it by clicking on one of the links above.

I am trying to contact the agency using the Contact Us link at the bottom of the screen, but nothing is happening. What should I do?

If you are having trouble using the Contact Us link, you should check if your internet browser, such as Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or Internet Explorer, has a pop-up blocker turned on. If your pop-up blocker is turned on, it may stop the Contact Us link from working.

Will I receive an e-mail confirmation of my payment?

Yes, you will receive an email confirmation of your payment from noreply@link2gov.com. This is a system generated e-mail. Please do not respond to this e-mail. We recommend that you check your email’s SPAM folder for the payment confirmation email if you do not see it. If you need to contact the agency about your payment, you should click on the Contact Us link at the bottom of the website.

Why does ET appear next to the time on my receipt and my e-mail confirmation?

ET stands for Eastern Time. Even if you are making your payment in another time zone, all payments processed on this site are recorded in Eastern Time. Eastern Time is Eastern Standard Time (EST) with Daylight Savings Time (DST). Please note EST doesn’t adjust for DST, but Eastern Time (ET) does.

Are all major credit cards accepted on this site?

The City of New York is committed to providing multiple convenient payment methods to its customers. You can pay with MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express credit cards for transactions on the City Pay sites. You may also pay with debit cards that have a Visa or MasterCard logo as well as Discover and American Express gift cards. Debit cards that do not have a MasterCard or Visa logo are NOT accepted on this site.

When I typed in my e-mail address, I received an error message saying "please enter a properly formatted email address", but my e-mail address is correct: What should I do?

If you see this error message, you probably typed your e-mail address in all capital letters. You should re-type your e-mail address using lowercase letters.

Why did my session timeout?

You have 5 minutes to make your payment before getting a warning that your session is about to expire. You will be asked to click “Extend” to continue your session. If you do nothing or click “Ignore,” your web session will timeout. If your session times out, you will see the following message:

Session Expired. Your session has expired due to inactivity. Your payment has not been processed. If you would like to make a payment, please start from the beginning.

Click your browser back button (←) to start again.

I tried to make a payment, but the following error messages appeared on the screen: What should I do?

CID (CVV) Failed Second Occurrence – You have entered an invalid billing address twice. Please check the address or contact your credit card company.
AVS Failure – The zip code that you entered for your billing information did not match the zip code on file with your credit card company. Please try making your transaction again and double check that the code is correct. If you continue to have problems, please contact your credit card company.
Expired Card – Contact your credit card company
Invalid Card Number – Check the card number and try again. If you are still unable to make a payment, call your credit card company.
Transaction Declined – There are a number of reasons your transaction may be declined. One common reason is that you may be using a debit card that isn’t accepted by the site. Please check for a Master Card, Visa, or Discover logo on your debit card. If none of these logos appear, your transaction will be declined.

If you see an error message other than the ones listed above, use the Contact Us link at the bottom of page to notify the agency that issues your bill of the problem. Please be sure to include the error message when you report a problem.

How do I ask for a refund?

If you need to ask for a refund, you must contact the agency responsible for issuing your bill. Agencies may have different policies about whether or not they will give you a refund. You can find the contact information for the agency that issued your bill by clicking on the Contact Us link at the bottom of the website. We recommend that you have the reference number that is on your receipt with you when you contact the agency.

I asked for a refund, but the entire amount has not been returned to me. Why not?

If you have been given a refund and you paid with a debit or credit card, only the base amount will be returned to you. The convenience fee is a nonrefundable fee.

I paid my bill, but the website is still showing that I owe money. Why is that?

It may take up to two or more business days for your payment to be reflected on this website. Once the website has been updated, you will not be able to search for the bill that you just paid. If you don't know if we have received your payment, you can contact the agency that issued your bill by clicking on the Contact Us link on the bottom of the webpage. Please have the reference number that is on your receipt with you when you contact the agency.

My receipt says that I received provisional credit for making my payment until it is deemed settled by my financial institution. What does this mean?

Provisional credit means that we wait for your bank or credit card company to confirm that there is enough money to make the payment before we give you final credit for making it. Your payment settles when your bank or credit card company confirms that the money is there to make the payment. Once your payment has settled, we will record the date that you clicked the Process Payment button as the date that you made your payment.

Why does my payment appear as multiple items on my credit card or bank statement?

For credit or debit card payments of over $100,000 and for eCheck payment of $1 million or more, your transaction will be split into smaller amounts for processing. Each split payment will appear separately on your card or bank statement.

Who do I contact if I have a problem with my payment or if I think my payment did not go through?

If you have a problem while you are using this website or if you think that your payment did not go through, please contact the agency responsible for issuing your bill by clicking on the Contact Us link on the bottom of the website. When you contact the agency, please have the date that you made your transaction and your reference number if you have one. You may also be asked for the last four digits of your credit or debit card number to help locate your payment.

I entered my account number to see my bill and got a message saying that no results were found. Why is that and what should I do?

If you entered your account number correctly, there are two reasons you could get a message saying that no results were found. The first reason is that there are no new charges on your account. This means that there is no new bill ready for you to pay. Second, if you have entered your account number correctly and you know that you owe money on your account, but see an error message that says no results were found, please contact the agency responsible for issuing your bill. When you contact the agency, please provide your account number and the date that you tried to find your bill.

I entered my account number and received a message that the site was unable to provide all search results. What does this mean?

If you have more than 150 charges associated with your account, you will not be able to pay on this site. You should contact the agency that issues your bill to ask how you should pay what you owe. If you have any questions about what you owe, you should contact the agency that issues your bill for more information.

Are there scheduled times when this website is unavailable?

Yes, the website will be unavailable because of scheduled maintenance every Sunday between 3AM and 7AM Eastern Standard Time (EST). You may not be able to make a payment during this time. Please try the website at a later time to make your payment.

Is it safe to make a payment online?

Yes. Making a payment on the CityPay website is a secure way to pay your bills and other charges. It is also more convenient. We take your safety and security very seriously. To process your payment securely, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), a security protocol that provides data encryption, server authentication, and message integrity for connections to the Internet, to ensure that account numbers and personal data you provide by using this website are not transmitted over the Internet unencrypted and cannot be viewed by unauthorized individuals. We will meet all of our legal obligations to protect the security of your data.

Does New York City protect my privacy while using this website?

Yes. Your information remains strictly confidential and is protected by all access and confidentiality provisions of Federal, State, and City of New York laws. We do not share or solicit this information to any third party for any purpose unless required by law. Only those employees who need access to this information as part of their immediate job responsibilities will have access to it. You can read more about New York City’s privacy policy here.

Why can't I pay all of my bills to New York City on this site?

We are working to put more payments on this site to make paying online easier and more convenient for you. If you do not see one of your bills to New York City on this site, please check back later. In the meantime, you can keep paying bills you do not see on this site using the current online or paper process.