Council apologises for 'unavoidable' payment disruption

A council has warned the public to expect some "unavoidable" disruption as it moves to a new payment system.

The local authority in the Scottish Borders said both in-person and online payments could be affected for a "period of time" from 16:00 on Tuesday.

It said it was working with its service provider to minimise the impact and was prioritising getting the most used services up and running as quickly as possible.

The council added that the new system would ultimately lead to "improved payment options" for its customers.

The new system includes secure email payment links and the expanded use of an automated payment phone line.

The council warned the change over would also impact the ability of some service bookings which involved a fee and said there could be disruption to a "small number" of booking and payment processes for several days.

It said direct debit payments would not be affected.

Lizzie Turner, chief officer for finance and procurement, said the payment system was connected to "multiple systems and processes across the council" including its website.

"Changing over to a new provider is a significant piece of work and some disruption is unfortunately unavoidable," she added.

"I'd like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused and reassure customers that we will be working to restore all booking processes and associated payments as quickly as possible."