In the past, people paid their bills in the form of cash or checks. They would put their checks in a stamped envelope and send it to be processed. This could take a week or so. Nowadays, more people pay their bills online. While there are several different ways to make payments online, perhaps one of the most convenient ways of using a payment system is by means of your bank, like in the presence of bill pay.
Reason to Use Online Bill Pay
The benefits given by online bill pay via your checking account is not offered by other payment methods. Firstly, it allows you to arrange payments for every bill you have from one location rather than manage your payments on different sites. This lets you keep due dates, making sure that you pay all your bills on time. The other advantages are the following:
Avoid overdraft fees. If there are no available funds, payment will not be sent.
See all pending bills beforehand.
Safeguard your personal information and not make the mistake of entering your bank account details on other sites.
As needed, change the amount or date of payment without having to go to another website.
Arrange automatic payments for monthly expenses such as your cable bill or auto insurance.
Furthermore, online banking makes it easy to keep a record of your balance. This way, you won't wonder when payments will be posted or checks will be processed and taken away from your account.
Ways to Benefit from Online Bill Pay
Though it would be advantageous to have an online bill pay with your bank account, if you want to maximize this, it would help to use it regularly. To let your bill pay work to your best advantage, you should learn how to handle your payments.
First of all, you have to get the contact details of each company you want to send your payments to and include them as payees. Most companies are added in the banks' systems, making it easy for you to get all the information needed. The majority of banks send out checks to payees not accepting ACH payments. You just need the payee's name, address and contact details, as well as the account number.
The payment should be scheduled for every payee on or before the due date. You have to know your bank's policy, including the date when the payee will receive the payment to avoid late fee charges. When the payment has the same amount and the same day on a monthly basis, arrange a repeat payment so you will never miss paying your bill on time.
Using online bill pay for your payees and automatically setting up payments will let you use less time in paying your bills and managing your finances. Also, your payments are recorded in case any problems arise.
Nothing has been easier than paying your bills via online payment services. Using online billing to handle your finances saves money, time and effort, since you can look after your payments and monitor your balance from one location. Since online bill pay offers all the aforementioned benefits, paying cash or checks in envelopes are now considered a thing of the past.