In California, child support laws are being tweaked to make the payment process easy and convenient for parents. The thought behind these changes is that parents will be more likely to pay if it’s really easy to do it, which could mean more payments are actually made, even with less involvement from the government.
One of the biggest changes is that parents are now able to make their payments when they go to 7-Eleven.
The company that has made this possible is called Pay Near Me, and their partnership with the government and 7-Eleven is aimed at getting back some of the $17.6 billion that parents owe in back payments across the state.
The payments are incredibly easy to make. All parents have to do is check out the Pay Near Me website, take a second to create a profile, and then use the account to pay—with cash, if they want—at 7-Eleven. All it costs is a small convenience fee of $1.99.
How do parents make sure the money goes to the right place? When they make their accounts, they are given barcodes that link to those accounts. These can be stored on a smartphone or printed. When they want to pay, they just have the clerk scan the barcode into the system, along with the amount they’re going to pay, and it gets rung up alongside any other purchases.
The program is in its first month, but it has already helped collect about $60,000.
If you are not being paid the money that you are owed, it’s wise to research all of the legal options that you have.
Source: Your Central Valley, “Parents Can Now Pay Child Support at 7-Eleven Stores,” Angela Greenwood, Nov. 06, 2015