Simplifying Complexities: CentralSquare Payments

For public administrators, managing payments is more than collecting funds. It’s also about building trust, maintaining compliance and providing a positive payment experience for citizens. Unfortunately, the process is anything but simple for many government agencies.

Multiple third-party vendors often create disconnected workflows. Each vendor comes with its own rules, formats and limitations, making reconciliation time-consuming and error-prone. PCI compliance adds another layer of complexity. Without the right safeguards, agencies expose themselves to unnecessary risk.

Citizens feel the pain too. Limited payment options, outdated portals and rigid office hours make it harder for residents to pay on time, hurting both satisfaction and revenue collection. Meanwhile, staff are stuck in a loop of chasing down payments, correcting mismatches and manually reconciling accounts.

When systems don’t talk to each other, delays and confusion add up. And without a centralized view of payment activity, it’s difficult to spot issues (or prove compliance) when it matters most.

CentralSquare Payments was built to simplify these complexities. Keep reading to see how it works.

Background of CST Payments

CentralSquare (CST) Payments was established in early 2020 with a clear purpose: simplify the complex world of public sector payments. To this day, many government organizations still juggle multiple third-party vendors, risking compliance gaps and inefficiencies. We built CST Payments as a fully integrated, internal solution to streamline the entire process – from point of payment to reconciliation.

CentralSquare Payments is securely embedded across our suite of products, eliminating the friction that comes with managing separate systems. This native integration means faster deployments, fewer errors and a more consistent experience for both staff and residents.

As a registered payments provider, our solution works with all major card networks and processes 6+ million transactions annually. It’s also level 1 PCI compliant, so you can feel confident it meets the highest standards for data security.

With a host of innovative features, CST Payments reduces risk, improves efficiency and helps agencies deliver better service with less complexity.

Key Features of CST Payments

Embedded in Product Suite

CentralSquare Payments is natively built into the software you already use, not merely linked with external systems. This eliminates the need for third party payment processors or gateways. Your team has a single system and a single point of contact, which makes setup, maintenance and troubleshooting faster and more reliable across the board.

Seamless & Automated Postings

With CST Payments, transactions are posted automatically into the correct GL accounts in real time – no API Connectors, double entry or manual file uploads required. That means fewer errors, faster reconciliation and less staff time spent manually matching records. What used to be a multi-step process now happens instantly and invisibly in the background.

Single Point of Support

Gone are the days of being bounced between your software provider and a third-party payments company. CentralSquare Payments offers a single point of support, so every call is resolved the first time. Our dedicated support team knows your software and your payment workflows, so help is faster and more accurate.

One-Stop Shop

CST Payments supports every major payment channel: online portals, in-person, phone, kiosk, cashiering, and IVR. It’s a complete platform under one provider, giving you a consistent user experience, simplified reporting and fewer gaps in support. It’s your solution for a true multi-channel payment strategy.

Custom Settlement Times

You choose when your batch settlements happen. CST Payments lets each agency set its own end-of-day processing time, in its local time zone. That means your reports, reconciliations, and accounting processes stay aligned and predictable, instead of forcing you to adjust around external cutoffs.

Flexible Payment Models

Whether you prefer to use an absorbed fee, convenience fee, flat fee, or service-based fee model, CentralSquare Payments can handle it. You have full control over how and where fees are applied (by department, payment method, or channel), giving you the flexibility to design a payment strategy that works across your organization.

Security and Compliance

CST Payments meets Level 1 PCI-DSS standards – the highest available for payment processors. We support both card-present and card-not-present environments, ensuring secure transactions no matter how residents choose to pay. With built-in compliance, your risk is lower and your team doesn’t have to manage the complexity alone.

Impact

CentralSquare Payments simplifies how public administrators manage revenue, leading to measurable savings and better service. By eliminating third-party processing and extra gateway fees, agencies reduce costs while improving performance. Fewer vendors also mean fewer headaches.

With CST Payments, reconciliation is faster and cleaner thanks to real-time, automated postings to GL accounts daily. With fewer systems to maintain, staff spend less time troubleshooting and more time focused on service delivery.

The impact on citizens is just as significant. With a single solution powering all payment channels, agencies can offer more ways to pay and deliver a consistent experience across departments. Fewer disruptions mean fewer complaints and fewer abandoned payments.

CentralSquare handles it all. From implementation and onboarding to day-to-day support, there’s one team to call. That simplicity translates into speed, consistency and better performance. Schedule a discovery call today to learn how CentralSquare Payments can transform your payment processes.