Times Herald-Record
Incoming inmates may be greeted with a new question at Orange County Jail's booking desk: Visa or MasterCard?
The Orange County Sheriff's Office started accepting most major credit cards as a method of cash bail Aug. 20.
The new program, which will allow inmates to post bail 24/7, is run through Government Payment Services at no cost to the county. A defendant who uses the service will receive a 5 percent to 10 percent fee on top of the bail.
"This will help keep people from spending a night or weekend in jail, when banks are closed and they don't have a lot of cash," Sheriff Carl DuBois said. "And that will save the taxpayers money."
Currently, 41 counties in New York and more than 850 agencies nationwide use the system.
