Online Bill Pay

[crokett]

I am talking about going to your bank account online and having the bank send checks. Anyway, it is very cool and the # of checks I write just went waayyy down. I paid a couple bills today and what took the most time was setting up the payees. Now that I have them set up, next month it will take a couple mouse clicks to pay them. Plus I don't have to pay for stamps.

[Zenaca]

I havn't written a check in about 3 or 4 years! Havn't bought stamps in about 5 . I love the online bill pay!


Bud

[pelligrini]

I've seen that feature for some time on my online bank account, but I never have set it up. Are there any problems that you have run into? especially delays making things late?

[crokett]

Well considering I've only paid the power bill so far, no problems for me yet. I did set up a couple more payees and paid some bills today. My understanding is though that it should not take any longer for the bank to pay it than it would take you. If the bank can't do a direct deposit to the payee they print a check and mail it.

[Bill Stock]

Welcome to the 19th century.

My bank also lets us do email money transfers, so I can email money from my payroll account to my regular bank. Numerous other uses for this too of course. The transfers are done through Interac so security is not an issue.

[LinuxRandal]

The BANK sends the checks? (little pieces of paper with all the info)

I can and do, do that.

I figured it would have been all electronic by now.

[jackellis]

LOML pays the bills in our household and unfortunately, I cannot get her to use online banking so she still writes checks and licks envelopes. Except for my credit card bill, which I usually pay electronically to avoid late fees.

This from a woman who was a systems programmer at IBM!

[LinuxRandal]

LOML pays the bills in our household and unfortunately, I cannot get her to use online banking so she still writes checks and licks envelopes. Except for my credit card bill, which I usually pay electronically to avoid late fees.

This from a woman who was a systems programmer at IBM!

Exactly the point, she should know something about security, probably on BOTH ends.

[tfischer]

We haven't written a check for a regular bill in probably 10 years. Online bill pay rocks!

We don't do it through the bank, though, we do it through each individual provider. That way it's free...

-Tim

[LCHIEN]

yeah the banks mostly deal with EFT (electric funds transfer) to participating payees but they will mail checks to some smaller outfits that don't do EFT. Takes a day to pay those that do, takes 5 days to pay those that don't.

Been doing it for years, has been very efficient and very convenient, now i write about 5 checks a year.

I think its much better to push money from my on-line account rather than let payess pull money thru automatic debit. If they make a mistake and withdraw $10800 instead of $108.00 then you may get your money back but it will be a hassle.

Setting up payees is much easier these days, in the old days you had to enter all the info by hand, now they search and when a match starts to come up they offer you a choice of the possible matches and then you confirm and it autofills the rest.

[rcp612]

Been paying online for about 6 or 7 years now. The only thing that amazes me is the few companies that don't have that payment type available. I end up mailing a few checks every now and then along with the message that they need to join the rest of the world's technology.

[leehljp]

I also have been paying online through my US bank account for about 6 or 7 years. Sure saves time and postage, especially from overseas.

[crokett]

LOML pays the bills in our household and unfortunately, I cannot get her to use online banking so she still writes checks and licks envelopes. Except for my credit card bill, which I usually pay electronically to avoid late fees.

This from a woman who was a systems programmer at IBM!

This ties into Bill Stock's post but she probably thinks the same way I do. I fix big systems for a living and know how snarled everything can get. I also know that the easiest security of all is not to expose things in the first place. I don't do facebook or other social networks, I don't do iTunes or music downloads, etc. I don't do automatic drafts from my bank account except for my bank drafting our mortgage. I will be the last guy (and probably never) who lets a computer drive my car, assuming that happens in my lifetime.

[cgallery]

Just make certain your computers don't get infected w/ key loggers (so your password can't be grabbed). Or keep a minimal balance in your accounts. I can introduce you to individuals and businesses that have had up to tens of thousands of dollars illegally transferred from a single account.

[dbhost]

I have no idea where my actual checkbook is... I have been using Online Bill Pay since the late 90s...