Through the wonders of the internet, people can sit at home and with a few clicks, pay all their bills without writing a single check or using any stamps.  Online Banking has become widely available and very convenient.  Most banks and lends offer this service as a courtesy to their customers. 

Paperless billing -- receiving notification of the monthly bills electronically – allows the consumer to receive an email notification when the monthly bill is ready.  The consumer can choose to pay the bill right away or take care of it at another time.  This convenient email usually will not contain any sensitive data, like amounts or account numbers, so there is minimal risk of theft.  Using “snail mail” – traditional postal delivery—takes longer to receive the payment coupon and submit the payment, plus the cost of the stamp and the check. 

There are different ways to pay bills online.  The first way is to pay the lenders directly.  This consists of going to the website of each lender individually and scheduling the payment.  This may be time consuming, but all the account information is available, such as balance, purchases, and previous payments received.  Most lenders offer manual monthly payments as well as direct debit (automatic recurring debit).

The next way to pay bills online is to pay all lenders directly from the bank that holds your checking account.  You can pay all the monthly bills with just a few clicks.  This is less time consuming than visiting each lender’s website, but the account information for each individual account is not available.  Most banks offer manual monthly payments and direct debit.

Another option is to pay all the bills with a credit card, then make a large payment to the credit card used.  This method can be convenient, especially is the consumer’s bank does not offer online bill pay.  However, there will be accrued interest to consider when using this option.

The last method of online banking is using personal bookkeeping software, such as Microsoft Money or Quicken.  These programs download account information for each account that is entered (many banks are available).  Once the lenders accounts have been set up, the monthly chore of paying bills will be easier and less time consuming.  You can then pay bills and check on account activity in one convenient place.  These software packages also include stock watching and investment tracking.  There are options for cash flow analysis and tracking 401(k) & IRA accounts. 

These programs range in price from $20 to $70, depending on your needs.  Both of these programs have a free trial period so you can test them before making a decision.  Once the decision has been made, both of these software packages offer the full package as a download, which means there is no waiting for delivery.

Online banking is the way the financial industry is going.  With all the options available, consumers have the choice for what best suits their needs.