How does OnlineBillCenter get my bill information?
How will I know when I have new bills?
What happens if I don't pay a bill?
What happens to the hard copies of my bills after they have been scanned?
What if some piece of important information, other than a bill, is sent to OnlineBillCenter?
Do I have to pay the whole bill amount?
How are the payments issued?
When are checks issued to my payees?
When are electronic payments issued to my payees?
How will I know if my payee accepts electronic payments?
When is my last chance to stop a payment?
How long does it take for a OnlineBillCenter payment to be received?
How will I know when payment has been sent?
When will the amount on the checks I authorized be deducted from my account?
What if my payee cannot accept electronic payments?
How is my OnlineBillCenter service fee handled?
Do I have to use OnlineBillCenter for every bill?
Can I still write paper checks?
What happens if I do not have enough money in my checking account to cover my bills?
Does OnlineBillCenter support bill payment by credit card?
How does the OnlineBillCenter SmartBalance™ feature work?
Can I pay all of my bills at one time?
What is the Personal Notes feature, and how is it different from the memo field on a check?


How does OnlineBillCenter get my bill information?

To issue payments through OnlineBillCenter, you must register your payees by providing their name, billing address, account number (if applicable) and other pertinent information. For bills that you choose to receive at home, this is the only information you need to make available to OnlineBillCenter. If you choose to receive bills online, your payees will be notified to send your bills, either electronically or by mail, to the OnlineBillCenter Processing Center. Electronic bills are posted immediately to your account. Paper bills are scanned and posted to your account within 24 hours of receipt.

OnlineBillCenter uses email to let you know the status of your bills. For every Payee you establish, you can control how many email notifications you would like to receive and when you would like to receive them. You can also check the Bill Center at any time to verify the status of your bills.

OnlineBillCenter will send you an email notification that a bill is overdue. Bills are never paid unless you authorize them. If you choose not to pay a bill, or pay by some other means, you can file the bill without issuing a payment.

Your original paper bill is stored for three months from the day of receipt, after which it is shredded for security purposes and recycled. Paper bills received from your payees are converted into electronic form within 24 hours from when they are received at the OnlineBillCenter Processing Center.

Bill summary and transactional information is always available online. Bill images are maintained online for one year from the date the bill is posted online. After one year, your bill images are archived offline for up to five years.

To meet your unique bill management needs, you can order a CD-ROM at any time in one of three ways.

1. Select a specific date range (up to 12 months of old data) and we'll ship the CD-ROM to you.

2. Instruct us to send you a CD-ROM at the end of each calendar month, and the product will be shipped to you automatically.

3. Instruct us to send you a CD-ROM at the end of each calendar quarter and the product will be shipped to you automatically. In addition, each November we offer a year-end CD that includes all of your bills and payments for the year.

Delivery of each CD-ROM typically takes 4-6 weeks and your account will not be charged until the shipping date. Upon shipment, the charge for your CD-ROM will be conveniently added to your monthly Subscriber Services Bill.  

Any non-bill notices, such as a rate change, will be scanned and delivered through the Bill Center. Account-related items sent to OnlineBillCenter, such as a calling card, are immediately forwarded to your home mailing address. All other items received, such as merchandise ordered online, cannot be accepted and will be returned to sender. Please be sure to indicate your home as the shipping address when ordering items online, through catalogs, etc.

No. You decide and approve the amount of payment for every bill.

Only you can authorize a payment from OnlineBillCenter - you tell us who, when and how much to pay. Payments are issued electronically or via paper checks, depending on the payee's capabilities. Both electronic payments and paper checks always include remittance information, ensuring that your payee can accurately record that a payment has been received for your account.

Most payees do not currently accept electronic payments. Therefore, OnlineBillCenter recommends that you set the payment date 5-7 business days in advance of your bill due date. OnlineBillCenter cuts paper checks twice a day, Monday through Friday. If you set payment in advance, your check is cut at 6am EST on the day you designated the payment to be sent. To have a check sent out the same day that you authorize payment, you must authorize the transaction by 3pm EST.

So, for example, if your payment is due to the payee on the 15th of the month and you set the payment date in advance as the 10th, OnlineBillCenter will draft a check from your bank account on the 10th, at 6am EST and mail the check via first class mail to your payee.

If you wait until the 10th to set the payment to go out, you must authorize your payment before 3pm EST. (If you schedule the payment after 3pm EST, your payment will be issued the following morning.)

The money will not be deducted from your bank account until the payee cashes your check.

For payees who can accept Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT), OnlineBillCenter recommends that you set the payment date at least 4 business days in advance of the due date. If you authorize payment in advance, your EFT will be sent at 3pm EST on the day you designated for the payment to be sent. To have an EFT issued on the same day you authorize payment, you must authorize the transaction by 3pm EST. Please note: some EFT transactions may clear your bank account the same day they are issued. Be sure your account is funded in advance to avoid bounced payments. You may be charged a $25 fee for each payment returned for insufficient funds.

You will know that a payee accepts electronic funds transfers if the letters "EFT" are displayed in the upper right hand corner of your check. No check number will be displayed. In addition, bills in your Outbox will display "EFT" in lieu of a check number.

You can choose to stop a payment up until 12 midnight EST on the night prior to the day you have designated for your payment to be sent. For example, if you have designated that your payment should be sent out on the 10th, you can stop the payment up until midnight EST on the 9th. You cannot stop a payment on the designated day a payment is to be sent.

Payments are issued electronically or via paper checks, depending on the payee's capabilities. OnlineBillCenter recommends that you plan to allow for five working days for paper checks to reach your payees. We recommend that you allow at least 4 business days for electronic payments to reach your payees. Both electronic payments and paper checks always include remittance information, ensuring that your payee can accurately record that the payment has been made for your account.

You will receive a Payment Confirmation email on the day that your payment is sent.

If the payee accepts electronic payments, the amount is deducted from your account on the scheduled payment date that you have authorized. If the payee is being paid via paper check, the amount is deducted from your account when your payee cashes the check.

OnlineBillCenter will issue a paper check if your payee cannot accept electronic payments.

For your convenience, the process of paying your monthly service fee is automated. Seven days prior to the due date, you will receive an email notice from OnlineBillCenter and you can review the detailed statement in your Outbox. On the day your payment is due, OnlineBillCenter will debit your default payment account via Electronic Funds Transfer (or issue a check on your behalf if your bank doesn't offer EFT). In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the OnlineBillCenter service, this monthly fee will be deducted from the checking account you designate as your "default" payment account.

No, you choose exactly which bills you want sent to OnlineBillCenter. When adding a payee, you will be asked if you want to receive the bill online. If you choose yes, a change of address notification will be sent to your payee, and bills should be redirected to the OnlineBillCenter Processing Center. If you choose no, you will continue to receive the bill at home, and you can schedule payments through the Bill Center. Please note: there may be some rare instances where your bill arrives online, but the payee will also send a paper bill to your home. Please check the Bill Center to ensure you do not make duplicate payments.

Yes.

OnlineBillCenter issues standard, approved payments against your checking account. Just as with a paper check, you have to maintain sufficient funds in the account to cover all payment obligations. OnlineBillCenter is unable to notify you if you have insufficient funds. However, you can use the OnlineBillCenter SmartBalance feature to retrieve an up-to-the-minute picture of your bank balance. Please note: you may be charged a fee for payments that are returned for insufficient funds.

OnlineBillCenter will only issue payments from an account with check-writing privileges. You can use OnlineBillCenter to pay your credit card with a check, but cannot use your credit card to pay other bills through OnlineBillCenter at this time. OnlineBillCenter is currently exploring working with a number of payees to accept credit card payments through OnlineBillCenter.

The OnlineBillCenter SmartBalance™ feature is the combined balance of your continuously updated online bank account activity (including ATM withdrawals, deposits, debits, etc.) and your up-to-the-minute OnlineBillCenter bill payment record. With SmartBalance you get the most up-to-date, accurate picture of your bank balance – all without leaving the OnlineBillCenter site – and all for no additional cost! Use of SmartBalance requires that you have an online bank account with one of the SmartBalance enabled banks.

Yes. You can pay multiple bills simultaneously from your Inbox. You can also pay any of your established payees by using the Make a Payment to Any Payee option.

Personal Notes are reminders you can add to any payment or filed item. Common uses for a Personal Note include reminders about why a payment was made, the occasion for a gift, or a dispute with the payee. Personal Notes are totally private, and can only be seen by you. In contrast, the memo field on a check is printed right on the check for the purpose of making an additional note to the payee.