More Online Bill Pay
FAQ's
Setting Up Automatic Payments
What are automatic payments?
Automatic payments provide a means for automatically scheduling
payments in OnLine Bill Pay based on the options you
select. You can set up two different types of automatic payments.
Automatic Payments for Electronic Bills—If you receive
electronic bills, some billers let you set up options for
paying them automatically. You can decide whether to always
pay the amount due or to set a limit on the amount for automatically
paying the bill. You can also decide whether to make the
payment on the due date or on the earliest date available
after you receive the bill.
Automatic Payment Schedules—You can set up an automatic
payment schedule to pay bills of a set amount at regular
intervals. For example, you can schedule a payment at the
first of each month to pay your mortgage or rent. This
type of automatic payment is always available to you, regardless
of whether you receive electronic bills from the biller
or whether the biller lets you pay your electronic bills
automatically.
How do I change an automatic payment?
Select the automatic payment icon  that
appears in the Pay Bills section of the Payment Center. Go
to Manage My Bills
where you can change the options for your automatic payment.
These options affect all current and future payments for
the bill that are scheduled automatically.
You can also go directly to Manage My Bills, select the
bill, and then select the option to change your automatic
payment options.
What happens when I delete an automatic payment?
You cancel all payments that are scheduled automatically.
If you want to cancel only one scheduled payment instead
of all payments that you've scheduled to be paid automatically,
look for the payment in the Pending Payments section of the
Payment Center. Click the Cancel link and confirm that you
want to cancel the payment.
How do I automatically pay my electronic bills?
Some billers let you set up options for paying your electronic
bills automatically. To set up these options, go to Manage
My Bills, select a bill, and then select the option to
add an automatic payment.
Quick Facts About Automatic Payments for Electronic Bills
You can select an option to automatically pay the amount
due for the bill. Keep in mind that some billers, such
as credit card companies, send a minimum amount due for
your bill, which may be different from the account balance.
You may need to make additional payments to pay the account
balance.
You can set a limit on the amount for automatically paying
the bill. If the amount due exceeds the limit, the bill is
not paid automatically. You can review the bill and resolve
any issues concerning the amount due with your biller before
you pay the bill.
When you add an automatic payment for an electronic bill,
the payments are sent automatically until you do one of the
following:
Delete the biller.
Stop receiving an electronic bill.
Delete the automatic payment.
Why can't I automatically pay all my bills?
To automatically pay the electronic bills you receive through
OnLine Bill Pay, the biller must be capable of receiving
automatic payments. We offer the automatic payments feature
to all billers that send us electronic bills. However,
not all billers choose to offer this feature.
Even if you cannot receive electronic bills from your biller,
you can set up an automatic payment schedule to pay a bill
of a set amount at regular intervals. For example, you can
schedule a payment at the first of each month to pay your
mortgage or rent. This type of automatic payment is always
available to you. You can only use it, however, if the amount
due is the same for each billing period.
How do I know when an automatic payment is sent?
When an automatic payment is scheduled, it appears in the
Pending Payments section of the Payment Center and the
Payment Assistant. You can also receive an e-mail notification
every time a payment is automatically scheduled for the
bill.
When the payment is processed, it moves to the Recent Payments
section of the Payment Center and the Payment Assistant.
You can also receive an e-mail notification every time a
payment has been sent. Automatic payments are processed just
like any other payments in OnLine Bill Pay. For more information,
see How do I know if the company or person received my payment?
What happens when I stop receiving an electronic bill that
I pay automatically?
You stop any automatic payments that you set up to pay
the electronic bill.
You receive your bills directly from your biller again.
It can take an entire billing cycle to receive bills directly
from your biller. You can still pay your bills using OnLine
Bill Pay, but you won't be able to access your bill online
from the Payment Center.
What happens if the amount due for a bill exceeds the amount
limit that I specified?
If the amount due for a bill exceeds the limit amount you
set for the automatic payment, OnLine Bill Pay does not
automatically make the payment. You receive a message in
your OnLine Bill
Pay inbox that lets you know that the bill's amount due
exceeds the limit.
If you think that the amount due is incorrect, contact the
biller. Once you resolve the issue with the biller, you can
go to the Pay Bills section of the Payment Center to pay
the bill, or you can pay the bill by some other means.
Why can't I select other options for paying my bill?
If you are participating in an e-bill trial and you haven't
stopped your paper bills, you can only select the option
to set up an automatic payment schedule. If the amount
due for your bill doesn't vary from one billing cycle
to another, this type of automatic payment may suit your
needs.
If the amount due for your bill does vary from one billing
cycle to another, consider stopping your paper bills. After
you stop them, the other automatic payment options are available,
and you can set up payments that are based on your e-bill
information.
How do I change the amount limit for an electronic bill?
Go to Manage My Bills, select the bill, and then select
the option to update an automatic payment. Your changes are
effective immediately.
What happens if I don't need to pay the bill?
If OnLine Bill Pay receives a bill with a zero amount due
or a credit that covers the amount due for the bill,
it doesn't automatically make a payment. You receive a message
in your OnLine Bill Pay inbox that informs you of the
situation.
You don't need to take any action.
Why was my payment scheduled after the bill's due date?
OnLine Bill Pay schedules the automatic payment for the
earliest pay date after the bill is received. If OnLine Bill
Pay
receives a bill before the due date, it automatically
schedules the payment and you receive a message in your OnLine
Bill
Pay inbox to let you know that the biller might receive
the payment after the bill's due date. If the biller
charges a late fee for the payment, you can send us a payment
inquiry
and we'll try to resolve the issue with the biller.
Note: If OnLine Bill Pay receives a bill after the due date,
the payment is not automatically scheduled and you receive
a message that informs you of the situation. In this case,
you should contact the biller directly. You can still make
a payment through OnLine Bill Pay, but you may need to pay
the bill by some other means.
How do I set up an automatic payment schedule?
To set up an automatic payment schedule, go to Manage My
Bills, select the bill, and then select the option to
add an automatic payment.
Quick Facts About Automatic Payment Schedules
When you set up an automatic payment schedule, you type an
amount for the payments. You have two options for setting
the payment amount:
You can make all payments the same amount.
You can make all regular payments the same amount and type
a different amount for the last payment.
You need to make three decisions that determine the frequency
and duration of the payments:
When do you want to send the first payment?
How often do you want to make the payments?
When do you want to stop making the payments?
When you set up an automatic payment schedule, the payments
are automatically scheduled for the duration you choose or
until you delete the automatic payment.
Which bills can I pay with an automatic payment schedule?
You can set up an automatic payment schedule to pay any
bill. For example, you might set up an automatic payment
schedule
to pay your mortgage or rent at the first of each month,
send a weekly allowance to a child at college, or make
bimonthly payments to reduce the duration of your auto loan.
Keep in mind, however, that you set an amount and a date
for the payment when you set up your automatic payment schedule.
If the amount due for your bill varies from one period to
the next, the payment amount may not be the same as the amount
due.
Tip: If the amount due for your bill varies, you can set
up reminders to alert you to pay your bill. The reminder
appears below the bill in the Pay Bills section of the Payment
Center for a certain number of days before the due date.
You can check the reminders to ensure you're making the payments
on time. For more information, see the FAQs for Setting Up
Reminders.
How do I know when an automatic payment is sent?
When an automatic payment is scheduled, it appears in the
Pending Payments section of the Payment Center and the
Payment Assistant. You can also receive an e-mail notification
every time a payment is automatically scheduled for the
bill.
When the payment is processed, it moves to the Recent Payments
section of the Payment Center and the Payment Assistant.
You can also receive an e-mail notification every time a
payment has been sent. Automatic payments are processed just
like any other payments in OnLine Bill Pay. For more information,
see How do I know if the company or person received my payment?
What should I select for a payment frequency?
The payment frequency you select determines when the payments
are automatically scheduled. The following table describes
the options you can select.
Frequency Definition Example
Weekly Every week on (or near) the same day of the week you
scheduled for the first payment. You send the first payment
on a Monday, 1/7/2008. The next five payments are scheduled
for 1/14/2008, 1/18/2008, 1/28/2008, 2/4/2008, and 2/11/2008.
Every 2 weeks Every other week on (or near) the same day
of the week you scheduled for the first payment. You send
the first payment on 1/7/2008. The next five payments are
scheduled for 1/18/2008, 2/4/2008, 2/15/2008, 3/3/2008, and
3/17/2008.
Every 4 weeks Every 28 days from the previous payment date,
starting with the first payment date. You send the first
payment on 1/28/2008. The next five payments are scheduled
for 2/25/2008, 3/24/2008, 4/21/2008, 5/19/2008, and 6/16/2008.
Monthly Every month on (or near) the same date you scheduled
for the first payment. You send the first payment on 1/2/2008.
The next five payments are scheduled for 2/1/2008, 2/29/2008,
4/2/2008, 5/2/2008, and 6/2/2008.
Twice a month Every month on (or near) the same date you
scheduled for the first payment. The second payment is scheduled
15 days after the first payment date. You send the first
payment on 1/2/2008. The next five payments are scheduled
for 1/17/2008, 2/1/2008, 2/15/2008, 2/29/2008, and 3/14/2008.
Every 2 months Every other month on (or near) the same date
you scheduled for the first payment. You send the first payment
on 1/2/2008. The next five payments are scheduled for 2/29/2008,
5/2/2008, 7/2/2008, 9/2/2008, and 10/31/2008.
Every 3 months Every three months on (or near) the same date
you scheduled for the first payment. You send the first payment
on 1/2/2008. The next five payments are scheduled for 4/2/2008,
7/2/2008, 10/2/2008, 1/2/2009, and 4/2/2009.
Every 6 months Every six months on (or near) the same date
you scheduled for the first payment. You send the first payment
on 1/2/2008. The next five payments are scheduled for 7/2/2008,
1/2/2009, 7/2/2009, 12/31/2009, and 7/2/2010.
Annually Every 12 months on (or near) the same date you scheduled
for the first payment. You send the first payment on 1/2/2008.
The next five payments are scheduled for 1/2/2009, 12/31/2009,
12/31/2010, 1/2/2012, and 1/2/2013.
Note: The dates may be adjusted to ensure that payments
are sent on a business day within the selected time period.
The dates are always rolled back to the previous business
day.
How does the cutoff date work?
The cutoff date serves as the last date that your payments
are scheduled automatically. If you select Twice a month
for the frequency, the cutoff date may be adjusted to
allow payments to be sent within that frequency.
Examples
You select these options when you set up your automatic payment
schedule:
OnLine Bill Pay sends five payments; the last payment is
sent 3/14, thereby reducing the cutoff period by 11 days.
The cutoff period is reduced when the final date to pay is
less than the date for sending the second payment in the
month.
You select these options when you set up a different automatic
payment schedule:
OnLine Bill Pay sends five payments as well; the last payment
is sent 3/14, thereby extending the cutoff period by 14 days.
The cutoff period is extended when the final date to pay
begins in the next month.
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