How Intech Increased a Texas Court’s Bill Collections by 230%

Introduction: Confusing Court Bill Payment Procedures Reduce Collections and Increase Administrative Burden

Cumbersome bill payment procedures complicate collections and place additional burdens on the clerks who are essential to the day-to-day functioning of Texas courts. Many individuals prefer to make payments by phone rather than traveling to the court. As a result, clerks frequently spend time guiding callers through the process of accessing the appropriate county website—a time-consuming and often frustrating task for both parties.

Despite their best intentions, individuals face several challenges when navigating complex online payment portals, including long phone wait times and confusion over bill payment details—such as identifying the correct court—resulting in missed payments and a heavier workload.

That’s where Texas-based Intech Worldwide LP (Intech) comes in. Intech has more than 35 years of experience creating tailored, integrated solutions that optimize court processes and workflows. Intech’s innovative platform, Apex Court Solutions, combined with CSG Forte Engage, a fully integrated suite of payment options including text to pay, email to pay and interactive voice response (IVR) in English and Spanish, is revolutionizing how courts manage payments. Intech and Forte partnered to create a robust bill payments platform that provides a streamlined, user-friendly system and simplifies bill payments. This has been game changing for court staff, empowering Texas clerks like those in Dimmit and Navarro counties to provide and benefit from a smoother, faster and more efficient payment experience.

The Challenge: Communication Barriers Create Bill Payment Bottlenecks

Before integrating Engage, Forte’s secure, scalable bill payment solution, processing court payments was an administrative headache. But clerks across Texas counties accepted the procedure because no one thought it could be improved. That’s why Intech partnered with CSG Forte to integrate Engage, an easy-to-use, secure and scalable bill payment solution. With Engage, there are no more headaches.

Rosie Alfaro, who’s served as a court clerk in South Texas’ Dimmit County for more than a decade, struggled with phone calls from residents who couldn’t navigate the old online payment portal. “Some of them have a really hard time finding the page or navigating through it,” Rosie shared. She and her coworkers regularly had to walk residents through the complex bill payment process, often spelling out URLs and explaining details letter by letter. This was especially difficult given the high percentage of non-native English speakers in Dimmit County. “We have to fill it out letter by letter in Spanish, and some of those letters we can't sometimes pronounce or say in Spanish,” Rosie explained.

Navarro County criminal court clerk Cindy agrees that before gaining access to CSG’s Forte Engage bill payment features, bill payment phone calls were challenging and time consuming. “The biggest problem was the language barrier,” Cindy explained. “Some people couldn’t navigate the website or enter their birthdates correctly, and it created a lot of frustration.” Esther Hernandez, a clerk in Dimmit County for 15 years, had been manually emailing residents a form with payment instructions and reported facing similar difficulties. “It was especially hard when people didn’t know how to navigate the internet,” she said.

The Solution: Intech Apex Court Solutions + CSG Forte Engage Bridges Communication Gaps

Intech’s software streamlines the court’s case management process including collection of fines and court costs, improving efficiency and reducing administrative burden. Through the partnership with CSG Forte, Intech leverages Forte’s reliable bill payment processing platform to ensure a secure, seamless payment process.

Key features include Text to Pay, which allows court clerks to send a secure payment link via Short Message Service (SMS), allowing users to pay their bills immediately, directly from their mobile phones. Similarly, Email to Pay allows clerks to email a secure payment link to payors, who can make a payment via email. IVR is also available when payors want to receive a phone call in their preferred language. They’re walked through the bill payment process, which reduces friction and increases payment completion rates. This simple approach is particularly beneficial for courts facing language barrier challenges or limited internet access.

Forte Engage supports Intech with several additional significant features:

·         Automated payment reminders: Reminders sent automatically to ensure timely bill payments without manual follow-up.

·         PCI-DSS compliance and security: Which ensures all transactions are secure and compliant.

·         Payment plan integration: Courts can offer flexible payment schedules supported by Forte’s automated reminder system.

By pairing Intech’s Apex court management solution with CSG Forte Engage, courts can streamline operations and improve collections while offering a more convenient, flexible way to pay. As an added benefit, court clerks can initiate payments not only in their own court— they also for other precincts. Prior to introducing Engage, payors had to make their payments directly to the jurisdiction that issued the fine or fee. Now, people no longer need to drive around the county to make their payments.

Results: Collections Increased by 3X in the First Operational Week

The results have been transformative. Rosie was shocked when she totaled the deposits in the first week following the Engage payment implementation: Weekly credit card deposits increased by over 230%.

She was also thrilled at the efficiency, estimating the process shaves off as much as 20 minutes on each bill payment transaction. “I absolutely love it. This is just the greatest thing ever,” she said. With the ability to send text links, residents who have difficulty accessing or navigating a computer can conveniently make a secure payment directly from their phones.

Cindy reports a noticeable boost in customer satisfaction. “It’s been a huge improvement over having to explain how to make a payment,” she said. “Now it is a push of a button on the Intech system.” Esther also praised the system’s simplicity and effectiveness. “I haven’t had to walk anyone through the steps, and it’s just fantastic,” she said.

Looking Ahead: Cost-Efficient, Secure Bill Payment Tool for Court Collections

Efficiency and productivity have soared in Dimmit County. Rosie loves that customers can pay on the spot. “If they want to pay now, here’s the link and they can get right to it,” she said.

Esther is excited to begin using the voice-to-pay feature, especially for Spanish-speaking residents, and said it’s been a “huge improvement” over the old system. Cindy appreciates the reduction in errors thanks to Text to Pay: “You’re taking their information, plus you're checking their phone number. It’s just a lot easier.”

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