In a world full of automation, it seems to make sense to add paying your bills electronically to the growing list of things that can be done by technology. Not only is it FREE to use automatic payments, but it saves you money – buying checks, postage, envelops, etc. – and time!
With an automatic payment plan, the monthly bill is recurrently charged to your credit card, debit card or electronically withdrawn from your checking account on a pre-set date every month without you having to do a thing. With e-billing, you receive an email each month notifying you that your statement is available, and you can view it on the vendor’s website within your account.
If you are still on the fence about signing up for automatic payments and e-billing, let me share some of the advantages of using this easy and reliable technology.
Convenience – When you sign up for e-billing, you get access to all your account information at your fingertips. You won’t get a hard copy of your bills in the mail anymore, instead, you will get them digitally. You can easily save them in a folder on your computer if you’d like vs. taking up valuable space in a home office or storage area. You don’t need to sort through a mountain of folders and paper when you need to find last September’s statement. You can access them quickly and securely online at any time.
Control – With automatic payments, you still have control of your accounts. You can set the payment date, as long as it’s before the due date, and you can choose the amount you pay – whether you pay in full, the minimum amount due, or a set amount each month.
Safeguard your credit score– With e-billing and automatic payments, you can prevent bills from going unpaid and negatively affecting your credit score. There are no worries of a bill getting stuck behind a drawer, lost in the mail, or accidentally throw out. You can typically set e-mail reminders for each account that will let you know when your bill is ready and another that will notify you right before the payment is processed. Your bill is scheduled and paid on time, which helps you maintain good credit.
Security – With identity theft being a serious issue, the less personal information that is sent in the mail, and potentially stolen or lost, the better. Paper mail is often a target for thieves because mailboxes are unsecure and easily accessible.
Environment – When you choose to use e-billing, you are doing your part to reduce the amount of paper consumption and creation of greenhouse gases. Think of all the paper generated from just 1 account – they send you a statement, which is usually several pages, in an envelope, with a stamp. You then write a check, use another envelope to put the payment in, and another stamp. That paper adds up quickly across multiple accounts.
Have additional questions about how automatic payments work? Give us a call or stop into any of our branches. You can also sign up to receive your Litchfield Bancorp statements electronically each month and do your part to help us Go Green! Sign up here: CLICK HERE!
Tiffany Hussey
Assistant Branch Manager
860-393-9156
NMLS ID#1599509