Tampa Electric Co. is using Metavante Corp. software to offer customers same-day bill payment services over the phone or the Internet.
Metavante, a subsidiary of Marshall & Ilsley Corp. of Milwaukee, said Tuesday that the utility is using its Just Pay It Convenience software, which lets billers accept expedited credit and debit card payments, as well as software to create and deliver bills electronically.
Many banks, billers, and vendors offer similar services and typically charge consumers a fee to route the transaction. However, because Tampa Electric, the principal subsidiary of TECO Energy Inc., is a regulated utility, it cannot impose such fees, Metavante said, so the vendor is handling the payments on behalf of the utility, and charges the fee.
Barb Powers, Tampa Electric's director of customer services, said in a Metavante press release that the deal with Metavante enables "utilities to offer the card option consumers prefer for many of their transactions."
