NJ Town First To Use Property Tax Card [AUDIO]

A Monmouth County community is said to be the first in the country to offer a merchant property tax rewards program. Marlboro Township rolled out its new Shop Marlboro card less than a month ago.

Mayor Jonathan Hornik says it's aimed at spurring economic growth and creating jobs by encouraging people to shop locally.

He says "It allows participating retailers, service providers or anybody selling a product in Marlboro, to offer residents a discount and that discount would go directly towards the purchaser's personal property taxes."

The Marlboro Township Shop Rewards Program is being managed by FinCredit Inc., a Marlboro-based Company as well. FinCredit Managing Director Carmine DeFalco says it's neither a credit card nor a debit card. He calls it a Property Tax Card or a type of customer loyalty program and he says they're the only company in the country to offer the program.

DeFalco says for a small fee, the Property Tax Card allows merchants to use a separate machine or a online portal to contribute a percentage of the customer's check toward their local property taxes. He says FinCredit keeps 2% of the reward money for it's programming, customer service and other fees.

DeFalco says card holders can even monitor how much money has been set aside for property taxes in their accounts by going to the web site and selecting the Shop Marlboro page.