How to Manage Electronic Bill Paying

Electronic bill paying has been around for a number of years now and is a convenient way to pay bills that saves time and postage. It also saves paper by avoiding the need to send out bill statements and late notices. Every bank and most utilities and companies offer a form of electronic bill payment. Use these steps to learn more about electronic bill paying and the basic set-up for the average bank account.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Log on to your bank website and set up your online banking account, if you have not already done so. Read over the Internet bill pay guidelines and about how it works.
2. Sign up for Internet bill pay. This is usually a free service offered by banks. To set up your electronic bill pay, you will need the statements of the companies you wish to pay and names of the people you wish to pay. Enter the account numbers and due dates for all the creditors and utilities you want to pay online.
3. Set the date for all your bills to be paid. This is set either by the due date or another date that you decide. This can be changed later if you need to.
4. Choose the amount to be paid each month. This can be determined automatically or changed if you need to.

Tips & Warnings

• With electronic bill pay you have access to ebills from all of your companies that offer them. You can access six months worth of billing and payment history and you know your bills will be paid on time.
• Electronic bill pay will not pay a bill if your funds are insufficient, which saves you from incurring an overdraft fee.
• You are sent reminders via email before your electronic bill pays are sent through your account, allowing you time to make changes if needed.
• Electronic bill pay is the same thing as auto-pay. If you are not comfortable with this method, do not sign up for the feature.