A day in traffic court at the Beaufort County Courthouse is a day when offenders are expected to pay up for their transgressions. Until now, it’s been doable only by cash, certified check or money order, which often meant a trip out to the bank before doubling back to the courthouse.

But starting today at the Clerk of Court’s Cashier’s Office, anyone who needs to pay for a traffic ticket, civil filing fees and/or probation fines and fees can do so using their debit or credit card.

“Sometimes 500 people come to court on a single day and the court expects you to pay the citation fee that day,” said Clerk of Court Marty Paramore. “Usually they’ve had to leave and got to an ATM and come back. … Now, we’ll be able to swipe that card and take care of it.“

Paramore said being able to do so will mean less paperwork in general for the clerk’s office: clerk’s office employees likely won’t have to deal with as many license revocations for those who ran out for cash and never came back — now those offenders can go ahead and pay before leaving the building.

According to Laura Williams, assistant clerk in charge of the Cashier’s Office, it will be a welcome change to not have to turn people away because of payment method. She said Cashier’s Office customers have been requesting the service for a long time.

“When they ask, ‘Do y’all take debit and credit cards?’ now we’ll be able to say yes,” Williams said.

While people will be able to pay the previously listed fines, there are those fines that cannot be paid at the Cashier’s Office by debit or credit card: alimony, bond forfeiture, cash bonds, child support, civil judgments, condemnation awards, disputed funds, rent bonds, trust and upset bids. No single-card transaction, including for those payments allowed, can be more than $1,000.

According to Paramore, the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts has slowly been incorporating the use of debit/credit card machines in courthouses across the state. Beaufort County was next on the list.

“I’m happy we’re able to provide this service,” Paramore said. “I think the citizens will benefit from it and I think it’s going to increase the efficiency of our office.”