Using Your Bank to Pay Bills

[Michael G.]

Do you use your bank to pay your monthly utility bills or other transactions?

Just curious

[saratogaman]

Yes, citizens First for many years. No problems.

[retiredguy123]

Do you mean going into the bank and paying the bill in person? I don't do that. But, I pay almost all bills using the online banking system. The money is transferred electronically to the payee. I don't use autopay where the merchant or utility company can take money from my account.

[rjm1cc]

I do for some and others I set up a monthly payment in my banks bill pay system. When I use the bill pay I pay a month in advance so I always have a credit balance. I usually take last years expense and divide by 12 to get my estimated monthly payment. If your vendor offers a budget system you could sign up for that.

[CWGUY]

;) Yep! And now I'm thinkin "bout getting me one of them there telly phones.....maybe even a debit card too. :rolleyes:

[villagetinker]

Only one account, Verizon since it saves $30/month, and this is on a separate account so when they get hacked, the most someone will get from me is a couple of hundred dollars, everybody else is by check.

[manaboutown]

Some years ago I put my utility bills on autopay as I traveled so much and did not want to miss paying those bills on time. My initial wariness gradually faded over time and I am now quite comfortable with doing it. I also have a low limit credit card for autopayments for cable, telephone, exterminator service and such. I still pay credit cards via phone call.

[Garywt]

We have multiple banks. Our main account that we have had for 35 years and gets our direct deposits. We pay bills online or automatic withdrawals from this account. We also transfer money to a credit union which we use to pay all Florida bills. Then we have an account for my wife’s business and we move money there if needed to pay bills there. Two other banks we have but don’t have a ton of interactions is Citizens First for our mortgage and Campus USA for our golf cart loan. Generally we order 40 checks that last us a year or two.

[jebartle]

Only one account, Verizon since it saves $30/month, and this is on a separate account so when they get hacked, the most someone will get from me is a couple of hundred dollars, everybody else is by check.

I'm the one in line at the register everyone hates, writing a check, I know, I know, it's hard to teach an OLD DOG, new tricks, besides I'm perenoid.

[asianthree]

Have been doing online banking and paying bills through both of our banks since inception. I write a check roughly 2 times a year. I still use my checking account record for all my transactions.

Never have any business debit my bank, or personal credit card.

[coralway]

Do you use your bank to pay your monthly utility bills or other transactions?

Just curious





Yes, haven't written a paper check in probably 10 years.

[Veiragirl]

Do you use your bank to pay your monthly utility bills or other transactions?

Just curious

yes

[Veiragirl]

YES but some I write checks for.

[Michael G.]

Yes, haven't written a paper check in probably 10 years.


People forget by writing checks, you are totally responsible until the receiver cashes that check which could be months.

Also when using a bank to pay your bills, if for some reason the bank screws up, YOU are
responsible for late payment, NOT THE BANK.

The Answer:
Always use rewards or cash back c/c and use your c/c $$$$.
If that bill is not payed, they will investigate it, and you have options on why it wasn't paid.

Pay directly on their website with your c/c, sit back and receive the rewards that are TAX FREE.

A no Brainer.

OH.....Your Welcome

[Velvet]

I pay internet, TV, gas and electricity on auto pay but not utilities. Utilities has water and irrigation and there have been discussions regularly with what is charged so they are monthly payments by echeck. I have a Citizens debit/visa card which is neatly tucked away in my drawer as backup if I should ever need it. And I have one single credit card in my wallet. And a Sam’s club card. And cash for tips etc. For contractors/service people I use paper checks.

[jimbomaybe]

What I find very nice is that in many cases you pay a "convivence fee" to put money directly into their account, no paperwork for them, saves the utility some money, very convenient for them I guess , it was suggested to me that you could send them a check, add a few cents to your payment causing them to refigure your account every month, if everyone did this they might decide to give the customer a discount

[Worldseries27]

i'm the one in line at the register everyone hates, writing a check, i know, i know, it's hard to teach an old dog, new tricks, besides i'm perenoid.
no the wait is not that bad, it's the pony express hitched to the handicap parking that causing the ruckus
rolling rolling rolling
keep those doggies rolling ( in the carts)

[westernrider75]

I use a cash back credit card to pay most bills then pay that credit card online. Great way for bonus money just for doing what you have to do anyway!

[bowlingal]

absolutely not...do not trust anyone....hackers everywhere. I also pay cash for my gas....never credit/debit card

[DaleDivine]

Yes, haven't written a paper check in probably 10 years.

Absolutely. Only use checks for grand daughters birthdays and Christmas.
:bigbow::bigbow:

[noslices1]

Do you use your bank to pay your monthly utility bills or other transactions?

Just curious

Always! Easy peasy.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Only one account, Verizon since it saves $30/month, and this is on a separate account so when they get hacked, the most someone will get from me is a couple of hundred dollars, everybody else is by check.

I have never hear of Verizon Bank???

[retiredguy123]

I have never hear of Verizon Bank???
I think he means he pays his Verizon phone bill with a separate bank account, not the Verizon bank.

[mk1126]

U.S. Mail!

[OhioBuckeye]

I do because then I don’t have to worry about paying a late fees because we’re gone a lot.

[LG999]

Yes. Auto pay is an easy & efficient way for pat recurring bills like utilities. Plus the payments are never late.

[talonip]

For the last twenty years I have paid via autopay. Everything is on autopilot. I use USAA bank. If the company I am paying will let me use AMEX I do that. That way I get hotel points.

[PersonOfInterest]

I keep the Cash under the mattress and drive to the location to pay on site with Cash and I get a receipt.

Seriously? No method of payment protects you from being 'Hacked' as you might fear. If you keep your money in any institution everything is done electronically. Are you Writing Checks to protect hundreds of dollars while you have investments / savings accounts in the 10's of thousands (or more) floating in the electronic system? When you hand Cash or a check to a vendor or other institution what do you think they do with it? Unless you use the Cash method above you're in the electronic system. The money you spent to use bank checks and postage to mail checks out is probably more than anyone has lost due to their electronic funds being hacked. You might also think about how you receive money. Do you get checks in the mail or cash handed to you or do you get electronic deposits to a bank account?

But .... its OK to be paranoid.

[rsmurano]

I have been paying my bills from my banks online bill pay for over 22 years. I used to use quicken which also went thru my bank but stopped that over 15 years ago. So easy to do, many features like autopay and you can see what you paid.

[retiredguy123]

I rarely use paper checks. But, I recently got some new checks and they are totally different from the old checks I had. They almost look like currency and they have 7 different security features. So, I assume that scammers are doing something to copy or forge paper checks. If you use a lot of paper checks, I would suggest ordering some of the new high security ones and destroy the old ones.

[Luggage]

Not quite true, some banks do take responsibility

[Ski Bum]

Have all of you check writers considered that when you write a check at the grocery store, you are handing your full name, address, (sometimes) phone number, routing number, and account number out to who knows how many people?

I echo many of the other thoughts here. I use auto payment from the bank and credit cards. When I set them up, I enable notifications so when any transaction hits my account, I get an email or text.

[Luggage]

Here's my take using your bank or debit card company to pay your bills. First have you called your bank and checked out how good their customer service is on the phone? Do they sound American or foreign?
Secondly if they allow electronic transfer meaning it the other company can get it in one or two days please be sure that they have all your companies on their list of AcH transfers . I had trouble entering one or two major companies that could not be simply found.
Third be aware that companies that are small or possibly City related like Leesburg electric they can only send paper checks to. Many times I have found that it takes 10 days or more for receipt and yes once or twice the mail has been lost. Like one or two other commenters said you will learn quickly when these need checks to pay a month in advance so you always have a balance I did that back in the 1990s after one or two people get me with a $40 fee for late payment. But overall it's good.

One more thing is that you should really look at their system and understand how they approach this. My old debit card with immediately reflect a lower balance when I entered any future electronic payment or paper check. My newer Bank does not do this and keeps my balance higher until a payment is authorized or a check has cleared. You may not realize this and try to pay more then you have if you keep a low balance like I do in my account waiting for my social security to clear monthly. Also some systems allow you to set up a monthly payment while you may have other bills that allow payment from their side which I find somewhat risky.
And one very last thing is that you can set up transfers from One bank to another depending on the system and Bank you use.
I can recommend PenFed which is not local but excellent and also Capital One where you can have credit cards debit cards checking accounts and savings accounts all tied in together and the advantage here is that you can pay your credit card bill instantaneously from your other Capital One accounts. I hope I've helped and yes the future is here now for the last 20 years at least good luck

[Luggage]

Checks do not need a full address on them. But considering that my very first check was not signed back in the days of college and it was still cashed I understand your viewpoint.

Have all of you check writers considered that when you write a check at the grocery store, you are handing your full name, address, (sometimes) phone number, routing number, and account number out to who knows how many people?

I echo many of the other thoughts here. I use auto payment from the bank and credit cards. When I set them up, I enable notifications so when any transaction hits my account, I get an email or text.

[retiredguy123]

Have all of you check writers considered that when you write a check at the grocery store, you are handing your full name, address, (sometimes) phone number, routing number, and account number out to who knows how many people?

I echo many of the other thoughts here. I use auto payment from the bank and credit cards. When I set them up, I enable notifications so when any transaction hits my account, I get an email or text.
It's even worse when you give your credit card to a restaurant server and they take it into the back room. I always pay cash in restaurants.

[retiredguy123]

Here's my take using your bank or debit card company to pay your bills. First have you called your bank and checked out how good their customer service is on the phone? Do they sound American or foreign?
Secondly if they allow electronic transfer meaning it the other company can get it in one or two days please be sure that they have all your companies on their list of AcH transfers . I had trouble entering one or two major companies that could not be simply found.
Third be aware that companies that are small or possibly City related like Leesburg electric they can only send paper checks to. Many times I have found that it takes 10 days or more for receipt and yes once or twice the mail has been lost. Like one or two other commenters said you will learn quickly when these need checks to pay a month in advance so you always have a balance I did that back in the 1990s after one or two people get me with a $40 fee for late payment. But overall it's good.

One more thing is that you should really look at their system and understand how they approach this. My old debit card with immediately reflect a lower balance when I entered any future electronic payment or paper check. My newer Bank does not do this and keeps my balance higher until a payment is authorized or a check has cleared. You may not realize this and try to pay more then you have if you keep a low balance like I do in my account waiting for my social security to clear monthly. Also some systems allow you to set up a monthly payment while you may have other bills that allow payment from their side which I find somewhat risky.
And one very last thing is that you can set up transfers from One bank to another depending on the system and Bank you use.
I can recommend PenFed which is not local but excellent and also Capital One where you can have credit cards debit cards checking accounts and savings accounts all tied in together and the advantage here is that you can pay your credit card bill instantaneously from your other Capital One accounts. I hope I've helped and yes the future is here now for the last 20 years at least good luck
Every online bill I pay, including Leesburg Electric, is transmitted electronically. Paper checks are only sent by the bank to individuals or very small companies.

[Villages Kahuna]

Do you use your bank to pay your monthly utility bills or other transactions?

Just curious
I’ve been paying my bills automatically for years. I had been using Chase, but recently shifted to Bank of America. Both work well, without any problems. I also use the check deposit feature of the bank websites. I can’t recall when I’ve actually been inside either bank.

All you have to do is make sure you have the balances in the bank to pay the bills when they are paid by the bank per your instructions!

[Roron123]

Absolutely on auto pay! Just check bills as they come in that amounts haven’t changed.

[Michael G.]

People forget by writing checks, you are totally responsible until the receiver cashes that check which could be months.

Also when using a bank to pay your bills, if for some reason the bank screws up, YOU are
responsible for late payment, NOT THE BANK.

The Answer:
Always use rewards or cash back c/c and use your c/c $$$$.
If that bill is not payed, they will investigate it, and you have options on why it wasn't paid.

Pay directly on their website with your c/c, sit back and receive the rewards that are TAX FREE.

A no Brainer.

OH.....Your Welcome

[Topspinmo]

I'm the one in line at the register everyone hates, writing a check, I know, I know, it's hard to teach an OLD DOG, new tricks, besides I'm perenoid.


Or me with cash, I alway get that look 👀. :duck:

[MollyJo]

no the wait is not that bad, it's the pony express hitched to the handicap parking that causing the ruckus
rolling rolling rolling
keep those doggies rolling ( in the carts)
Crooks ‘wash’ checks Its a different world nowadays…

[Topspinmo]

absolutely not...do not trust anyone....hackers everywhere. I also pay cash for my gas....never credit/debit card

I buy the gas card and out money I it so I don’t have to go I every time to pay. circle K now has gas cards. That way I don’t have to stick my credit card in the gas pump.

[Topspinmo]

Crooks ‘wash’ checks Its a different world nowadays…


Crooks are crooks no matter what method you can still get scammed.

[Topspinmo]

Not quite true, some banks do take responsibility

With you’re money 💰 :icon_wink:

[Salty Dog]

As mentioned by some others, I use a rewards CC for as many transactions as possible. I have all the monthly transactions setup so the payee automatically charges my CC. This pretty much sets the onus on the payee as to the proper amount and date of payment.

[Velvet]

Have all of you check writers considered that when you write a check at the grocery store, you are handing your full name, address, (sometimes) phone number, routing number, and account number out to who knows how many people?

I echo many of the other thoughts here. I use auto payment from the bank and credit cards. When I set them up, I enable notifications so when any transaction hits my account, I get an email or text.

This is why I use Citizens First Bank. They call me if they get a check for a significant amount or to a person I don’t usually write to. To make sure it was me. No other bank has ever done that.

[Westie Man]

and then pay the card balance on line. Much better than a debit card or check

[Shoogley]

Do you use your bank to pay your monthly utility bills or other transactions?

Just curious
I find paying on line very problematic.
From the Td to BOA ON CORNER. They write a check. A check mailed from Canada 17 days. When a company does not use e- transfer they write a check. The company does not want to use etransfer because they want you to use autopay , and I refuse. Too many computer errors which is always overcharge never under charge. I will be changing banks to a credit union.

[JoMar]

absolutely not...do not trust anyone....hackers everywhere. I also pay cash for my gas....never credit/debit card

How does that position line up with your kids and grand kids lol

[RUCdaze]

I have been using Chase to pay most of my bills; however, I recently decided to change banks and use Citizens First. What a nightmare it is to switch over all the accounts! It's taken me about three months. I would say that the only drawback to having a bank pay your bills is what you have to do if you ever want to change banks.

[davem4616]

Do you use your bank to pay your monthly utility bills or other transactions?

Just curious


sure do, and have for years....

most of my bills hit a credit card that gives me 2% back on everything, and I use my bank's 'bill payer' system to pay that credit card off every month (it's a push from me)
When we did a lot of traveling in pre-covid days, we'd get over a grand back by running everything through that card

The water/amenity bill won't take a credit card...so that one and my life insurance premiums are the only ones that I have allowed to 'pull' money out of any of my bank accounts

the about made it a lot easier to avoid 'late charges' when we were first snow bunnies and then snow birds