Is it a constant struggle to keep your bill payments organized? Pay your bills on time and with ease using bill pay software online.
If you are like most people, you need to pay a lot of bills. Bill payments are a fact of life. Sometimes, they are bills for single purchases. Often, they are ongoing payments for housing or utilities. In either case, making those payments efficiently is important. Not only is it in your best interest to save time, but missing payments can lead to late fees or credit problems. Yet, it is easy to forget to pay bills, especially paper bills. Misplacing them is a common occurrence.
One way to avoid problems paying paper bills is to make the switch to online bill payments. Online bill pay is extremely popular these days. In fact, many consumers have completely phased paper bills out of their lives. Online payments are quite convenient, especially since many of them are automatically scheduled on your behalf. All you have to do is select the online bill pay service you like the best.
What Are Common Bill Pay Service Types?
One of the most common online bill pay service types is the electronic check, or eCheck. Companies like Stax and PaymentCloud provide eCheck services. They allow users to fill in checking account information online, rather than writing paper checks. Then funds are transferred from one bank to another. Often, that transfer is quite quick. The process is streamlined by the national Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. It bypasses the need for credit card processing. Here are some other online bill pay choices to consider:
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Banks like Chase often have their own in-house bill pay options. The same is true of most credit unions. Such systems are available for use by customers of those institutions at any time. Customer information on file is used to make the purchases, as needed.
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Providers of certain services also often provide their own bill pay systems. For example, websites for gas and electric companies usually have pages where customers can pay their bills online. All customers have to do is fill out provided web forms with account information. Customers can also often link their bank accounts or credit cards and set up automatic monthly payments through specific service provider websites.
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Software programs exist that are designed specifically as independent online bill pay tools. Sometimes they are specific to bill pay. However, they are also sometimes incorporated into financial software suites. Quicken is one of many companies offering bill pay tools as part of larger software suites.
Why Do Consumers Use Bill Pay Services?
The reasons consumers use bill pay services are as varied as the consumers themselves. Common reasons are convenience and the ability to pay bills from various electronic devices. Some consumers also like the organizational features of bill pay software. They can see which bills they paid and when at any time. Upcoming balances due are also easy to view, which helps keep users organized.
Why Are Some Other Bill Pay Benefits?
Time management is a major problem for many consumers. Busy work and social schedules can make remembering to pay bills difficult. Bill pay software allows users to set up automatic payments, payment reminder alerts, and other useful features to guarantee bills are paid on time. Here are some other useful features of online bill pay services:
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No Postage to Pay or Need to Visit a Post Office
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Consolidated Bills on One Website or App
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Multiple Payment Security Features
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No Wasted Paper or Environmental Downside
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Easy Financial Analysis, Particularly of Long-Term Accounts
What Bills Are Payable Using Bill Pay Services?
There are no limits regarding which bills consumers can pay with bill pay services. However, they are considered most useful for setting up payments that are withdrawn on a regular schedule. For example, streaming subscription payments are commonly paid using bill pay. Other types of bills often paid easily online through bill pay services include:
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Mortgage Payments
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Student Loans
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Vehicle Purchase Loan
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Other Personal Loans
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Credit Card Payments
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Phone Bills
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Electric Bills
Which Bill Pay Software Programs Are the Best?
When organizing multiple bills paid to various companies, dedicated bill pay software is often the best type of tool for the job. Bill pay software features vary, so it is important to select software carefully. Several top companies have produced versions of bill pay software. Each are unique in their own ways. Here are a few of the best brands from which to choose:
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Paytrust is a unique service that consolidates paper bills, as well as online bill payments. The company users scanned copies of paper bills to keep records organized. That way users can see all bill transactions of both types easily in one place.
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Prism is one of the most flexible online bill pay programs. It allows users to make bill payments with prepaid cards, debit cards, and other forms of payment. It is also designed to make paying bills promptly easier by providing various reminders and automatic payment setup services.
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MyCheckFree is an eCheck processing website that facilitates payments to certain companies online. As of 2022, there are hundreds of companies that accept payments via the website. Users must view the provided list on the website to make sure companies they wish to pay are included.
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Mint Bill Pay is one of many financial tools provided by the popular financial website called Mint. The mint platform also provides various types of budgeting and credit improvement assistance. It also offers easy ways to check bank balances and perform other financial tasks quickly from any device with online access.
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Quicken Bill Pay is like Mint Bill Pay in the sense it is part of a larger financial platform provided through Quicken. As a long-time leader in financial tools, Quicken has incorporated many beneficial features in its bill pay tool. Among them are the ability to list offline and online payments, as well as payment scheduling options.
How Much Does Using Bill Pay Software Cost and How Long Does Making a Payment Take?
The cost of bill payment software depends on desired features. Quicken offers several subscription services with an upper end cost of $99.99, depending on tools chosen. Prism and several other websites offer free options for basic services with upgraded paid memberships or per-transaction fees. Like the fees, processing times also vary. Same-day bill payment is only offered through some services, such as Wells Fargo, and fees for rapid payment usually apply. Two or three business days is the average processing time, but individual companies set their own processing policies.