Online Bill Pay: Save Time, Pay Online

Banking online might not sound like the coolest invention of the 21st century (I know, I know, DVR the MP3 player – I know.), but when it comes to really making my life easier, nothing beats it.

Think about it – no more checks to order, no more envelopes to stuff and no more stamps to buy. Plus, with online Bill Pay (and the right alerts), I receive bills online and get notified when they’re due. With all these conveniences built into Online Banking, I’m saving hours – and plenty of wear and tear on my car – every month.

If you’re not already on the online bill pay/online statement/electronic funds transfer bandwagon, get on board.

Online Bill Pay: How It Works

Now – I can’t tell you how every bank works its online bill payment service, but I’ve been using Online Banking at Bank of America, including their online bill payment services – for years and I can certainly give you a taste of what it’s like.

Here goes:

• Sign up. All you have to do is spend a couple of seconds at your bank’s Web site and soon you’ll be ready to go.


• Check account balances and account activity. Just log into Online Banking with your online ID and password and verify your SiteKey^TM and check your online statement to find out what’s cleared, what charges have been made and what your balance is. You can even use the site to view up to18 months worth of online statements.


• Online Bill Pay and Electronic Funds Transfer. Spend just a few minutes to sign up to receive your bills online. Then, when the bills are due, you’ll receive alerts to your e-mailbox or mobile device. When you’re ready to make the payment, just log in, select the bill to pay and the amount you’d like to pay (or use electronic funds transfer to move money between accounts to cover the bills. As early as the next business your bills will be covered (if that’s the timing you chose).

Once you’re all signed up, even if you’re paying tons of bills, you should be able to finish your business in about 5 minutes (but I’m just gauging this from personal experience). Trust me – it’s easy. (Of course, not all online banks offer all these services online – and not all these services may be available in every state, so you’ll have to do some detective work.)

Security: Online Statements & Electronic Funds Transfer

For you skittish types, I know banking online seems fantastic, but a little frightening. Well, it is fantastic – but there’s nothing frightening about it.

Most banks have security measure after security measure to protect your private information. And at Bank of America (which is the only bank I can really speak to), they’ve got a world-class security service called SiteKey^TM that works as another layer of security to help keep your personal information secure and protected.

SiteKey^TM is an Online Banking security measure that includes an image, image title and three “challenge” questions that only you will know the answers. So after you sign up for Online Banking, it’s important that ONLY you know how to log in to your account.

In addition to SiteKey^TM, Bank of America also has several other measures that authenticates users, encrypts information and verifies data integrity to help keep your information secure.

Last, but certainly not least, if someone does manage to get past all the security hoops and into your account, and they initiate unauthorized activity, such as electronic funds transfer or an online bill payment to a bogus company, Bank of America has the Online Banking Guarantee – which means that you’ll have $0 liability for unauthorized activity, providing you notify us promptly2. (But you’ll have to catch it and report it within 60 days of its first appearance on your online statement to stop further fraud from occurring.)

You see – it’s all very simple and so safe. So hop on board and make your life a whole lot easier.