A structured 60-day pilot for forward-thinking jail administrators. Full, live access to the platform — real transactions, real payments — at zero cost to your agency.
Schedule a ConversationThe Charter Facility Program gives your jail full, live access to 8A Payments' digital bail payment platform for 60 days — at zero cost to your agency. Charter Facilities become among the first jails in the country to offer card-present bail payment at the booking desk.
This is not a demo. Transactions are real, payments are processed, and bail funds are remitted directly to your agency's merchant account. The only difference from a standard deployment is that there is no long-term obligation to continue.
Every Charter Facility receives the full platform — not a stripped-down trial version, not a limited feature set. If you go live, this is exactly what a standard deployment looks like.
Shipped and provisioned directly to your booking desk — ready to process payments on arrival.
Configured specifically for your facility. Not a generic link — a purpose-built checkout environment.
Established under 8A's PayFac umbrella. Your agency holds the account — not 8A Payments.
CJIS-compliant and PCI DSS-certified from day one, powered by Worldpay.
Typically live within five business days of agreements being signed.
In-app ticket system and a direct phone line to 8A — not a call center, not a tier-one queue.
Full reconciliation and audit trail from day one. Every transaction logged and exportable.
To process real payments, two standard agreements are required — there is no way around this, and we believe in being direct about it. Both are straightforward. We provide them upfront and encourage your legal team to review at their pace.
| Agreement | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Worldpay Merchant Agreement | Standard government merchant account agreement. Processed in under a week in most cases. Your agency holds the account — not 8A Payments. This is the same agreement any government entity signs to accept card payments. |
| 8A Payments Service Agreement | Governs the platform, the card reader, and the service fee paid by detainees at checkout. Your agency incurs no cost under this agreement — before, during, or after the pilot. If you continue past 60 days, no renegotiation is required; this agreement carries forward as-is. |
At the conclusion of the 60-day pilot, your facility has three paths forward. 8A Payments imposes no minimum transaction volume, no monthly fees, and no pressure regardless of which you choose.
Move into a standard deployment with no renegotiation required. The agreements already in place carry forward. Nothing changes operationally — you keep going.
Take the time you need for a full internal review, a procurement process, or a budget cycle. No deadlines, no penalties, no pressure to decide on our timeline.
Return the card reader to 8A Payments. No further obligation, no cost, no strings. The pilot ends cleanly and completely.
Every Charter Facility operates on the same compliance infrastructure as a full deployment. There is no difference between the pilot and the production platform.
| Standard | How It Applies |
|---|---|
| MCC 9399 | Government Services — the same merchant category code as DMV fees and court costs. Not classified as a cash advance. Standard credit card rates apply, with no surcharge risk to the facility. |
| CJIS | Data handling meets federal Criminal Justice Information Services standards throughout the pilot and beyond. No cardholder data touches systems outside the compliant perimeter. |
| PCI DSS | Payment infrastructure is fully PCI DSS certified, powered by Worldpay. Your facility inherits this certification — no separate audit required. |
| Chargebacks | Managed and self-insured by 8A Payments. Your agency has zero exposure to chargeback liability during or after the pilot. |
Charter Facilities have a direct line to 8A throughout the pilot — not a call center, not a ticketing system you're waiting on. You're doing something new; you should have someone accountable on the other end.
David Forbes, 8A Payments — direct access throughout the pilot period, reachable by phone and email. Not delegated to a support rep.
Submit tickets directly from the booking desk application, or reach the support team by email. Most issues are resolved same-day during the pilot period.
Schedule a 20-minute conversation with David Forbes to discuss fit, timeline, and next steps. No obligation — just a straight conversation about whether this is right for your facility.
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