Comments on: Tips & Tricks For Paying Bills Online

By: Maxwell

Maxwell — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:53:20 +0000

I think its great that you can pay everything online from your computer.
Most banks even offer free bill pay and companies like Chargesmart.com or Officialpayments.com offer electronic payments via credit card.

And Australia is like being in the US 4 years ago!

By: Rich Menga

Rich Menga — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:48:06 +0000

Yes I do agree that some financial institutions “pause” payment processing on purpose. One particular company that is notorious for this is Discover (credit card). When you make a purchase *or* a payment it takes from 5 to 7 days to process/show up in the system. They don’t hide this fact and state up front it does take this long.. but why? Other cards only take 1 to 2 days. Local “check cards” from banks have transactions show up the same day!

By: Drew

Drew — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:09:31 +0000

My take on the situation is that the banks have their systems set up like this on purpose to silently have transactions incur overdraft fees for those who don’t manage their account properly and forget about the payments they scheduled a week or so in advance.

Australia is so much farther ahead when it comes to online banking and I have to admit that I expected more from US banks when I moved here. Back in Aussieland, instant online transfers that are processed within the same bank are transferred as they stated – instantly. Transfers between banks are generally 24 hrs if processed prior to 10pm.

The US has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to online banking IMHO.

By: FortyPoundHead

FortyPoundHead — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:23:36 +0000

I need to get my wife to check this story out. I’ve been trying to save her the heartache of sending in paper checks every month. Maybe if she hears it from someone else, she’ll make the plunge!