The Village of East Aurora is now accepting credit card payments for utility bills and other items over the Internet.

The new service, which took effect recently, can be accessed by clicking on a link on the village Web site,

www.eastaurora.ny.us

. Payments with Master- Card or Visa credit and debit cards are possible because of new federal banking regulations for municipalities. The hitch, as is common with Internet transactions, is that residents will be subject to paying a site fee for processing costs that applies to all payments. For credit and debit cards, the fee is approximately 2.75 percent of the total bill, plus 60 cents for each municipality paid. Credit card users may then spread payments over several months and may be eligible for card benefits and rewards.

When visiting the site, residents may locate and view their bills from any enrolled municipality nationwide.

Paying village bills by cash or check still remains available in East Aurora Village Hall.