An eCheck (or electronic check) is an authorization given to the City of Alexandria allowing the City's bank to initiate an electronic transfer of funds from your banking account to the City’s banking account under strict laws governing your right to privacy and security.

You should contact your financial institution immediately if you believe that the electronic fund transfer reported on your account statement was not properly authorized or is otherwise incorrect. Consumers have protections under a federal law called the Electronic Fund Transfer Act for unauthorized or incorrect electronic fund transfers.

The electronic fund transfer from your account will usually occur within 24 hours, which is faster than a check is normally processed. Therefore, you should be sure that there are sufficient funds available in your checking account when you submit your eCheck.

There is no fee for using eCheck.

In rare instances, it may not be possible to use an eCheck. In some cases, checks drawn on foreign banks or on accounts other than a standard bank savings or checking account may not be accepted.

If the electronic fund transfer cannot be completed because there are insufficient funds in your account, the City may try to make the transfer up to two more times and will impose a one-time fee of $35 against your account, which the City will also collect by electronic fund transfer.

The City will notify you and give you an opportunity to correct the error before the payment transaction is re-submitted. Your parking ticket or tax bill account will not be credited with the payment and date of initial submission of payment until the City receives the funds. You may incur late payment penalty if the error results in payment being made after the due date. Payment rejected due to bank or City error will not incur a penalty and will be credited on the date submitted.

The electronic fund transfer from your account will be on the account statement that you receive from your financial institution. However, the transfer may be in a different place on your statement than the place where your checks normally appear. For example, it may appear under "other withdrawals" or "other transactions."

Your Bank Routing and Bank Account Numbers can be located at the bottom of your check. Your Bank Routing Number is the 9 digits between these symbols:

And your Account Number is to the right of the routing number between these symbols: 

Do not confuse these numbers with the check number that is printed either to the left or to the right of the account number. Your check number should not be included in your submission.

Yes. The City will allow you to pay more than one tax type or tax bill with a single payment using an eCheck.

Virginia law requires staff to apply tax payments to the oldest delinquent account. You are still responsible for the unpaid accounts.

1. At the end of this transaction, an acknowledgment screen will be displayed. The City encourages you to print the acknowledgment screen with the transaction confirmation reference number for your records.
2. After you submit the eCheck transaction, the City will send an email confirmation to the email address you specified at the time of payment.

Yes. It is important that you give the City your daytime telephone number and email address. The City will try at least once to contact you, if needed, using the information you have provided.

While you should always be aware of fraud, paying the City of Alexandria with an eCheck on the internet is no more insecure than mailing a check or handing a check to a cashier. The City of Alexandria uses SSL (Secure Socket Layer) services to encrypt all transactions on the City web server. SSL is a communications protocol that encrypts and authenticates communications across the internet. SSL is used mostly (but not exclusively) in communications between web browsers and web servers. SSL provides privacy, authentication, and message integrity to prevent eavesdropping, forgery, and tampering. The City of Alexandria also employs internal security measures to protect your information.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Treasury Division
301 King Street, Room 1510
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
703.746.4800
Email:  payments@alexandriava.gov