I was reading a nasty little article about bills and was fascinated to see how many people actually pay their’s online. According to researchers at the Gartner Group, 27 million Americans are saving on stamps by going online. It’s up from 10.6 million in 2001. That sort of interested me, so I started reading up on the subject.
Most large banks and credit unions offer the service to customers free of charge whereas CheckFree.com and Paytrust.com charge a fee. Of course, you can also use pesonal finance software like Microsoft Money or Quicken.
One of the biggest benefits is the fact that you can arrange for recurring payments to be sent automatically. You can even schedule payments up to a year ahead. (That’d make it kind of handy when it comes to things like renewing domains.)
Another benefit is the ability to make money hop from your savings account to your checking account during non-banking hours – in the middle of the night or on one of the countless holiday’s that bankers cool their heels.
If your bank offers the service, all you need to do is set up an online user ID and password on its website. From there you create a payee list from your list of bills. Apparently not every biller is set up for online payment, however, so you have to plan accordingly.
Apparently there are still a lot of skeptics around. Many people still believe the risk involved ranges from financial theft to identity theft. However, proponents argue that the risk isn’t any greater online than off. For anyone who isn’t convinced, maybe you should hang onto your stamps a little longer. A finger-print-scanning device is in the works which will load directly onto your computer. Fascinating, in a James Bond kind of way.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m a big, big fan of paying my bills online – all of them! Seriously, over the last six months I have gradually moved to paying everything this way, either via my bank, or via the actual service providers (utilities, credit cards, etc,) and the amount of stress it has relieved is incredible.
In fact, it’s priceless
I’ve been paying my bills online for a long time now. Like Cary, when the compnay I have to pay doesn’t offer online paying I use my bank’s free billpay service. It can’t stand mailing checks. They take time to get there, take time to process, take time to get drafted from my bank account.. which I find very frustrating when trying to balance my “money”. Paying online is so much better for how I do things. I love it!