Wichita Water Bill Payments Disrupted by Nationwide Outage

Third-party credit card processor BridgePay reports service disruption impacting online and autopay transactions.

Published on Feb. 9, 2026

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The City of Wichita announced that residents are experiencing issues making online water bill payments due to a nationwide service disruption with the city's third-party credit card processing vendor, BridgePay. The outage is impacting credit and debit card payments as well as autopay transactions, though checking account payments are still working. The city is waiving late fees for autopay customers during the outage and is encouraging residents to pay by phone, in person, or by check or money order.

Why it matters

Reliable water bill payment processing is crucial for the city's operations and for residents to avoid late fees and service disruptions. This outage highlights the reliance on third-party vendors and the potential vulnerabilities in critical municipal payment systems.

The details

According to the city, the BridgePay outage is impacting the link.wichita.gov website, preventing residents from making online credit and debit card payments as well as stopping automatic payments. However, payments can still be made over the phone or in person at City Hall using cash, check, or money order. The city has stated it will not charge late fees for autopay customers whose payments do not process during the disruption.

  • The outage was first reported on Monday, February 9, 2026.

The players

City of Wichita

The local government of Wichita, Kansas that oversees municipal services including water utilities.

BridgePay

A third-party credit card processing vendor that provides payment services to the City of Wichita for water bill payments.

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What’s next

The city has stated it is working with BridgePay to resolve the nationwide service disruption as quickly as possible to restore normal water bill payment processing.

The takeaway

This incident underscores the importance of municipalities having robust and redundant payment processing systems to ensure residents can reliably pay their bills, especially for essential services like water. It also highlights the need for thorough vetting and contingency planning when relying on third-party vendors for critical infrastructure.