Filed under Money on October 11th, 2008:
Make Bill Pay Easier: How to Pay Your Bills Online
You no longer have to make a mad dash to the post office to pick up stamps or get a bill post marked in time. With online bill pay services, paying your bills is easier than ever.
Individual Companies
Your cable, gas and electric company all probably have an online billing system. All you have to do is go to the company’s website and register an online account. Most likely you’ll need your account number for that company to sign up. Most online billing systems will send you a notice via email when your bill is due and will allow you to pick payment options. Most common payment options include automatic debiting of your bank account or credit card. You can also choose one time billing options if you’d rather the company not have automatic access to your account. Be careful, sometimes service providers will charge a fee for paying with a credit card online.
Online Bill Pay through Your Bank
Some banks will allow you to pay your service providers through your checking account. Most banks will offer direct electronic debiting of your account. You simply choose the amount you’d like to debit and the date that you would like the payment to be sent out. Banks also offer paper payments where you choose the date and amount you would like mailed to the service provider and the bank prints a check and mails it for you. Some banks allow you to pay your bill online for free while others charge for the service.
Benefits of Online Bill Pay
- You don’t have to worry about your statement or payment getting lost in the mail.
- The amount of mail you have to sift through everyday will decrease.
- You no longer have to worry about stamps or mailing. You just press a few keys for online payments.
- Online billing reduces the waste of paper.
Things to Remember when Using Online Billing
- Make sure the site you use is secure.
- Save all confirmation numbers or online receipts.
- Do not give service providers access to your bank accounts if it makes you feel uncomfortable.
- Regularly check your accounts to make sure unauthorized debits have not been made
- Also check to make sure your bills are being paid on time. You don’t want a late fee because you didn’t check your account.
You don’t have to waste time wrestling with paper bills anymore. Even though paying bills can be painful, some of the stress involved in the payment process can be reduced with online systems.