At Capital Waste Services, we want to be fully transparent about how billing works. When customers pay by credit or debit card, there’s a small processing cost charged by the banks and payment processors that handle those transactions. To be fair to all customers and keep our prices competitive, we pass that fee through as a processing charge on card payments.

 

What is a credit card processing fee?

When you pay with a credit or debit card, the card networks and payment processors charge the merchant (in this case, us) a fee to process the transaction. That fee typically includes:

  • a percentage of the transaction (for example, 2.9%), and
  • a small flat fee per transaction (for example, $0.30).

Because those fees add cost to each payment, companies often show a small processing charge to customers who choose to pay by card.

 

What is ACH (bank transfer) and why is it cheaper?

ACH stands for Automated Clearing House — it’s the network that moves money directly between bank accounts. ACH payments are processed differently from card payments and generally cost far less to the company. Because those bank-to-bank transfers have lower or no percentage fees, customers who pay by ACH usually avoid the card processing charge.

 

How you can avoid the card processing charge

If you’d like to avoid the processing fee, here are simple options:

1. Pay from your bank account (ACH) via our customer portal

  • Look for your email invitation to the Capital Waste Services customer portal (you’ll receive this after account setup).
  • Log in and go to Billing → Payment Methods.
  • Choose Add Bank Account and enter your routing and account numbers.
  • Complete verification (we verify instantly)
  • Set the bank account as your default and/or enroll in autopay.

    Once your bank account is active for payments, ACH payments will not carry the card processing charge.

2. Mail a check

If you prefer, you can mail a check to our payment address:

PO Box 675507, Detroit, MI 48267-5507. (Please include your invoice number and account name on the check.)

3. Call our local team for help

If you’d like assistance setting up ACH or switching your payment method, our local team is available and will not send you to an out-of-town call center. Call us at (770) 499-1279 and we’ll walk you through the steps.

Is ACH safe?

Yes. ACH payments are secure and governed by banking rules (NACHA). When you add a bank account in our portal, your information is encrypted and handled securely. For card payments, we use industry standard security measures (PCI compliance, tokenization, and encryption) to protect your data.

 

Why we offer both options

We know convenience matters. Paying by card is fast and familiar for many customers, which is why we continue to accept cards even though they carry processing costs. But if you’d prefer to avoid that charge, switching to bank account payments (ACH) or mailing a check are reliable alternatives that save you money.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does ACH take to process?

A: ACH processing times may vary. Depending on the verification method, it can be instant or take a couple business days to verify and post.

Q: If I set up ACH, will my autopay still run on my normal service date?

A: Yes. Once your bank account is verified and set as your default payment method, autopay will process on the normal schedule, without the card processing fee.

Q: Can I switch back to card payments anytime?

A: Absolutely. You can update your payment method in the portal at any time.

If you’d like help switching to ACH, send us a quick message or call your local CWS.. Our local team is standing by to help you save on processing fees and make billing easy.

Thanks for being part of the Capital Waste Services family.

— Capital Waste Services