Phone Calls & Video Visits at Monterey County Jail: Rates, Account Types, and How to Set Up SmartInmate

Phone calls at Monterey County Jail cost $0.05 per minute. That rate applies across all the main call types: Collect, Prepaid Collect (PPC), and PIN Debit. So whether the call is billed as collect, paid from a prepaid setup, or charged to a PIN Debit balance, you're looking at the same per-minute charge.

The difference between account types comes down to how the money is handled - not the rate itself (all three are listed at $0.05 per minute). Prepaid Collect (PPC) is a prepaid balance tied to specific phone numbers, so calls to those numbers draw from that balance instead of being billed as traditional collect charges. PIN Debit is a prepaid option the incarcerated person uses to place calls from their own funds. Collect calls work the traditional way, with the same posted per-minute rate.

Monterey County Jail offers SmartInmate remote video visitation. This lets you visit from your own device instead of traveling to the facility.

To get started, create an account at www.smartinmate.com. Once you're set up, add funds so you're ready to schedule and conduct a remote video visit.

• ✓ SmartInmate deposits require a minimum $5.00 per deposit.
• ✓ Each SmartInmate deposit has a $1.50 processing fee.

Prefer to set things up by phone? Call Smart Communications Customer Care at 727-349-1561. They can create your SmartInmate account and help you deposit funds for video visitation.

For in-person deposits, use the kiosk machine in the jail lobby to add money to an incarcerated person's Trust account.

You can also deposit money online through the approved commissary provider at web.connectnetwork.com.

Phone deposits work too - call 1-888-988-4768 for Trust account deposits. For SmartInmate setup and funding (including remote video visitation), reach Smart Communications Customer Care at 727-349-1561.

You can mail in funds via money order or certified check to Smart Communications. Include the phone number for the Prepaid Collect (PPC) or PIN Debit calling account where the funds should go.

There's also an option from the inside: the incarcerated person can deposit money into Trust accounts using Smart Communications phone/tablet features.

Calls dropping? First, double-check that you're using the right account type for how you want to pay (Collect vs. PPC vs. PIN Debit) and that there's enough money in that account. If the balance looks fine, contact the provider's customer care team - they can look at the account and call activity to pinpoint the issue.