Online Bill Paying Saves Time and Eliminates Paper (2024)

7 Great Ways To Pay Your Bills

Updated on March 15, 2022

Reviewed by

Michael J Boyle

Online Bill Paying Saves Time and Eliminates Paper (1)

Reviewed byMichael J Boyle

Michael Boyle is an experienced financial professional with more than 10 years working with financial planning, derivatives, equities, fixed income, project management, and analytics.

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The internet has made paying bills fast and easy for anyone. Using an online bill pay service, you can set up a secure online account that lets you pay all your bills from one place, saving time and effort. Not only that, but you can avoidlate paymentswith automated payments or scheduled reminders and alerts.

How Online Bill Pay Services Work

Enter your monthly payments into your chosen bill pay service. You'll need to know the name, address, and phone number of the payee, your account number, and the amount due for payments that remain the same every month, such as a car or mortgage payment. For fluctuating costs, such as your electric or water bill, you'll need to go in and adjust the amount every month. You can also set the date for payments to be made.

What To Look For When Using Online Bill Pay

When choosing the right bill paying program for your situation, you'll want to look at and compare price, convenience, reliability, ease of use, accessibility, automation, and security.

Benefits of Paying Your Bills Online

Each online bill payment service—whether it's a specialized software program, an app, or a website—will offer slightly different benefits. These might include same-day payments, juggling paper bills, or set-it-and-forget-it automation.

You'll also save money on checks, postage, and late fees by signing up for and using a service that fits your needs.

Learn about some of the best bill pay services, how they work, and how they help you manage your finances.

Prism

You'll never need to miss another bill again with Prism Money. This app tracks your bills for you and sends you updates and reminders when your due date nears. It shows an overview of all of your bills in one place and lets you pay each bill any way you want: with a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, or your bank account. Plus, Prism even offers same-day bill pay, which could come in handy if you've forgotten a bill until the last minute.

Prism joined with BillGO in 2018 and positions itself as an alternative to Mint Bill Pay and Unbill now that those services have gone away. You can download Prism for free on iPhone, Android phones, Windows phones and computers, and Kindle tablets.

Quicken Bill Pay

You can use Quicken Bill Pay as a supplementary service to Quicken's financial software, or use it on its own. If you are a Quicken Starter or Deluxe customer, Quicken Bill Pay is $9.95 a month. If you have Premier, the service is free.

Quicken Bill Pay lets you pay all of your bills from one place. You can access both e-bills and manual bills, plus review and schedule everything right from your dashboard. Also, when you pay bills through Quicken Bill Pay as a Quicken user, your transactions are automatically updated.

Note

Keep your online bill paying secure by never sending account information through email, and consider using a service that incorporates a two-step verification process.

MyCheckFree

MyCheckFree, from the banking service giant Fiserv, lets you pay bills online from hundreds of companies. Although the site's design is outdated (Scout the dog, the service's mascot, "fetches" bills for you), the price of MyCheckFree (it's free), plus the service's 100% guarantee, makes it worthwhile.

Paytrust

Paytrust's service includes handling your paper bills for you, by scanning and displaying them online. Since it also handles e-bills, that means no matter what kind of bills you receive, you can pay everything in one place.

Paytrust offers a one-month free trial; the service is $9.95 a month after that.

Prepaid Cards or Credit Cards

If you have a credit card or a prepaid card, you can use it to pay bills online. For prepaid cards, you'll need to make sure the card is registered to you and that it is loaded with enough money to cover the bill. Credit cards are already registered to your name and you pay using your line of credit.

With both kinds of cards, you can make a one-time payment or set up recurring bill payments. If you have a credit card that awards cash back or points for purchases that you pay off every month, using this type of online bill pay can be especially beneficial.

Note

Most utility and loan companies allow you to set up automatic payments from your bank account. This can be helpful for bills that have varying amounts each month.

Your Bank or Credit Union

Many banks, brokerages, and other financial institutions offer free online services, including bill payments through their websites. However, these online banking sites may not provide all the features that a dedicated online bill pay service offers. Consider the reasons for using online banks and their services to see if they can meet your needs.

Financial institutions that offer bill pay services usually let youschedule payments in advance, which is useful for avoiding late payments.

Through the Company's Website

Of course, you can always visit your biller's website or online bill pay portal to pay them directly. When you choose this method, you provide the biller (whether it's a utility, mortgage company, phone company, or other service provider) with your financial information and authorize them to withdraw the amount of your bill.

Key Takeaways

  • There are several easy and fast way to pay your bills online every month.
  • Using online bill pay can save time and money.
  • When choosing an online bill paying method, look for those that are free or low cost, secure, easy to use and access, and reliable.
  • Set up online bill pay through an app, your bank or credit union, your payee's website, through a prepaid debit card, or with the help of computer software.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is it safe to use an online bill paying service?

Yes, if you use a secure, trusted site that has a stringent verification process, paying your bills online can even be more secure than paying with paper checks, which have all of your financial information printed on them.

Do I need a checking account to pay bills online?

In most cases, a checking account is required to use online bill pay. Some methods of payment, such as a prepaid debit card or cash management app, may enable you to use the service without a checking account.

Is it free to use a bank's bill paying service?

Most banks offer bill pay to their account holders without charging extra, but they may have balance or usage requirements in order to access the service for free.

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The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Online Bill Paying Saves Time and Eliminates Paper (2024)

FAQs

Online Bill Paying Saves Time and Eliminates Paper? ›

If you juggle rent or a mortgage, cable and electricity bills, credit card payments and more, online bill pay can save time and help you avoid late fees. Online bill pay also allows you to manage your payments to various companies — all in one place.

Why is going paperless a bad idea? ›

These situations highlight one of the biggest disadvantages of going paperless; without a printed backup of your files, your business operations will be put on hold. This is why keeping physical copies of documents is vital to ensure that you always have access to important data if technology ever decides to fail you.

What are the disadvantages of paperless billing? ›

Drawbacks of paperless billing
  • Can lead to missed payments. If you're used to the physical reminder of a mailed monthly statement, transitioning to paperless could result in missed payments initially.
  • Requires internet access. ...
  • Risk of overlooked charges. ...
  • Risk of digital clutter.
Dec 15, 2023

What are the benefits of online bill pay? ›

The Many Benefits of Online Bill Pay
  • Saving Time. Setting up a payment through Online Bill Pay is quick and easy. ...
  • Saving Money. You can also save money with Online Bill Pay by eliminating the checks and stamps associated with traditional bill payments. ...
  • Decreasing Clutter. ...
  • Improving Your Financial Management.

What is the difference between paper and paperless billing? ›

What is paperless billing? Paperless billing, also known as ebill, is when a customer receives an electronic bill rather than a paper bill in the mail. These paperless bills are typically emailed to customers and available within their online accounts to access and review.

Can a company charge you for not going paperless? ›

Additionally, the Bill provides that a retailer's first and second violations will result in a warning, and each subsequent violation shall result in “a fine of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each day the business is in violation, but not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300) annually.” Notably, many large retailers ...

What would happen in the future if we go paperless? ›

Environmental impact.

Paper products are developed from trees, which are cultivated by the paper industry. If we could fully go paperless, we could drastically reduce our consumption of trees, reducing our destruction of the environment and preserving our world for the future.

Is paying bills online risky? ›

Make sure the website you're using is encrypted. Keep an eye on your account activity and status, and report any suspicious activity immediately. Use a credit card instead of a debit card for online bill pay to dispute any fraudulent charges that may pop up. Don't use public Wi-Fi when accessing your account.

What are the downside risks to online bill paying? ›

Errors could result in additional fees. Be aware of your checking account balance, especially if you have automatic payments set up. If you overdraft your account, that can result in unwanted, expensive fees. Certain privacy issues may be at stake concerning shared client database information.

Are there any disadvantages to online bill pay? ›

Cons. Signing up and adding each new payee may take some time. Recurring automatic payments could overdraw your account if you don't have enough money to cover your bills.

What is the safest way to pay bills online? ›

Secure online payment methods
  1. Credit cards. By and large, credit cards are easily the most secure and safe payment method to use when you shop online. ...
  2. ACH payments. ...
  3. Stored payment credentials. ...
  4. Credit cards with EMV chip technology. ...
  5. Credit cards with contactless payment. ...
  6. Payment apps.
Feb 11, 2023

What is the best way to pay bills online? ›

Use Online Bill Pay Through Your Bank

The best way to pay bills online for free is probably your bank or credit union. If you have a checking account, it's likely that your financial institution offers online bill pay as a free service. Paying from your bank means that your bank initiates the money transfer.

What percentage of people use online bill pay? ›

Consumers want to simplify their monthly bill pay obligations now more than ever, and see digital channels as the better, smarter faster way to do it, as 85% of consumer already are using digital bill pay. Many are even willing to pay a small convenience fee for the service.

Should I switch to paperless billing? ›

If e-statements are enough for you to track spending, check for fraud, identify errors and make your payments on time, then you're probably better off without all that paper. But if you lean on hard copies to keep your life in order, stick with what works for you.

What is paper free billing? ›

Paper-free billing is an electronic billing option that eliminates your paper bills altogether. Bills are electronically created and displayed online. You can view, save or print if you'd like. It is safe, convenient, and offers you the flexibility to manage your bills at any time and from anywhere.

Do companies still use paper invoices? ›

More than 90 percent of medium-sized companies still use paper invoices to some extent and about 80 percent use paper for more than half of the invoices they process, according to a 2012 survey by the Institute of Financial Operations (IFO).

What are the cons of paperless society? ›

Disadvantages of a Paperless Society:

Technological Dependence: A paperless society relies heavily on technology, such as computers, servers, and internet connectivity. Technical issues, power outages, or cyber threats can disrupt access to important information and documents.

What are the disadvantages of paperless classrooms? ›

Cons of a paperless classroom

Once the novelty wears off, students will inevitably find ways to distract themselves with games and social media - and it can be difficult for teachers to make sure students are staying on-task.

What are the pros and cons of paperless environment? ›

  • Advantage: Significant Cost Savings. ...
  • Disadvantage: Consumer Habits. ...
  • Advantage: Speed of Information. ...
  • Disadvantage: Potential Hackers. ...
  • Advantages: Mobile Workforce. ...
  • Disadvantage: Hardware or Software Issues.

How going paperless affects the environment? ›

Reduced Deforestation

Human-driven deforestation destroys ecosystems vital to wildlife and humans, increases the risk of major soil erosion, and contributes to climate change. Going paperless gives you a huge opportunity to save forests and impact the environment positively.

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