Sending Payments by Check Online

[Onomea]

I use online banking pretty much exclusively. Auto pay my utilities with direct withdrawals from my checking account. Use PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, wire transfers. So I consider myself pretty much up to date with the latest electronic payment methods.

I have one monthly payment, my lawn service guy, who wants payment by check. I asked him if he used Zelle a coupla years ago and he said he did not, so I've been sending him checks monthly when he invoices me. When I am away for a while in Japan, as I am with some regularity, I either pay him in advance, get his agreement in advance to wait for my return for payment, or mail him a monthly check from overseas.

My 30 YO son visited last week. Curious, I asked him if he had ever written a paper check, speculating that probably many young people nowadays had not. He said that he had, adding that his landlady wants paper checks for rent payments. He continued on that he had arranged with his bank to mail her, for the bank to mail her on his behalf, a paper check in his name and drawn on his account, once a month, automatically.

I said, "What? You can do that?!"

Sure enough, looking at my account online, bill payments, there is a place to arrange sending a paper check, either one off or on a regular basis.

No more need to write the check, address the envelope, find a stamp, and take it to the mailbox or PO. You can do the whole thing just sitting in your arm chair with an iPad or whatever you use.

Now I am sure many of you guys are many years ahead of me on this, and that many others are worried about Big Brother getting into your financial shorts and wouldn't dream of using this process, but, for those who like me are just behind the times, and would prefer the convenience, I thought this info might be useful.

 

[SMSgt]

Not a big fan of online payments. Car payment is electronically withdrawn form bank account, one other bill goes to credit card. Otherwise, the Boss sits down and writes out a check. Too many fraudulent charges on my cards, too many card reissues by the CC companies, never had a check lost or stolen.

 

[mtgianni]

Not a big fan of online payments. Car payment is electronically withdrawn form bank account, one other bill goes to credit card. Otherwise, the Boss sits down and writes out a check. Too many fraudulent charges on my cards, too many card reissues by the CC companies, never had a check lost or stolen.

I on the other hand, have had an Income tax check "misplaced" for 3 months. I will only pay certain entities electronically.

 

[ladder13]

The missus has been doing this for at least 3 years. I have no clue.

 

[mchom]

Yes!

It’s a great option
Usually found in the bill pay section
Banks encourage this in their efforts to reduce fraud

Crooks are always on the hunt for account numbers and my bank had reached out a while back to encourage using these services

 

[Golddollar]

Not a big fan of online payments. Car payment is electronically withdrawn form bank account, one other bill goes to credit card. Otherwise, the Boss sits down and writes out a check. Too many fraudulent charges on my cards, too many card reissues by the CC companies, never had a check lost or stolen.

I'm a card carrying Luddite, so for a long time I dutifully paid my bills by putting a check in the mail. But I had to change my practices when I noticed how it took a long time for payment on one particular bill to get to the credit card issuer by mail. So as a precaution I learned how to set up an online payment to this creditor. And it was good thing I did, because one time I mailed payment two weeks before the due date and the post office got it there late. Luckily I had the online system set up and I quickly sent an online payment on the due date. So it ended up I had an on time payment in full on my credit card bill and a tremendous down payment on the bill due the next month. So I managed to diminish my Ludditeness and now pay as many of my bills as possible online.

 

[Rustyt1953]

We pay homage to the electron here. From finances to pacing they do it all.

 

[mckenney99]

Like Golddollar, I always paid my bills by check thru the USPS but as USPS became more and more unreliable at delivering mail in a timely fashion I finally got on board with the bill pay option through my credit union (CU). I still get to determine when I want to pay what bills.
I will not use the auto-pay option unless I am given no choice due to lack of oversight and control.
After setting up the bill pay option with the CU, most payments are handled electronically from the CU to the service provider but for those providers that don't have electronic payment set up, the CU will actually cut a check and mail it. Recently I have run into 2 occasions where even using this service the USPS still took over 3 weeks to get the CU checks to my providers. In those cases I was forced to make separate/additional payments in person at the local utility & insurance agency, on the due dates . I now pay my local utilities in person and my insurance payments at the local offices to avoid using USPS.

 

[Muss Muggins]

A paper check generally contains all the information necessary to hack your bank account . . .

 

[rh73]

A paper check generally contains all the information necessary to hack your bank account . . .

This. Do a search for "check washing".

 

[sigp220.45]

I haven’t written a check in at least ten years. I’m surprised people still do.

 

[glenwolde]

A paper check generally contains all the information necessary to hack your bank account . . .

Here in Houston there are regular robberies of Postal Carriers where they are relieved of their keys. Then the thieves run around ripping off mailboxes. Sending paper checks through the mail is nowhere near as secure as electronic payments.

My difficult sister-in-law refused to give me her bank information in order for me to transfer some money to her electronically. She said she wasn't "comfortable" with that and insisted that I write her a check. That was difficult for me as I was distributing money from an inherited bank account which was not a checking account. I decided to just write her a personal check and pay myself back.

I had to do this a few times as the money became available. But once I wrote her a check, I had her bank information after she deposited it. It was right there on the canceled check. The next payment I sent went electronically, which upset her to no end. She thought I "hacked" her account somehow. I should have just kept the money. I could have. But that wouldn't have been right.

 

[Onomea]

This. Do a search for "check washing".

Regarding the issue of check washing — which is not hacking but removing payee and/or amount from a paper check and filling in some other payee and amount — I bet the checks the banks send on our behalf are a lot harder to wash than the ones we write up ourselves. (That said, if you write your own checks, use a gel type ballpoint pen. The ink is harder to "wash" out.)

Re monthly payments, most utilities/services are happy with electronic payment, but, take my lawn service guy. He wants a paper check, as I note above. I suppose I could ask to give his crew cash in an envelope when they are here, but if I were he I would not like that.

I also write personal checks for stuff I buy off the forum here as a lot of folks (including me) are willing to accept personal checks, but (unlike me) are not comfortable, or familiar with electronic forms of payment. It's more convenient than getting a MO from the post office or a certified or cashier's check from the bank, if the seller is comfortable with it.

I think paper checks are still a good option to have on hand for those who accept and prefer them.

 

[arjay]

I didn’t know that. It was just last year that I learned I could deposit a paper check using my phone.It was magic

 

[kraynky]

I pay both by check and online payments, but never knew a bank would write checks for you! A couple of my utilities want to charge me a $2.50 fee to make an online payment, so they get checks, as do a life insurance policy that doesn't offer any options.

The rising cost of postage may soon offset that difference.

The world is changing fast. I just had to order new checks that arrived yesterday. I doubt I'll ever use this batch up before they become completely obsolete,......... or I do..........

 

[bushmaster1313]

I make many payments online
But I never do automatic payments

Last auto insurance renewal the annual fee jumped from $2,000 to $8,000 because an adult child who did not live with us got rear-ended with no damage to our car but large damage to the car doing the rear ending.
If we had had auto pay the $8,000 might have been paid and I might never have known I was getting fleeced.

 

[Narragansett]

I still use paper checks and cash for the most part. Letting people into my checking account is an absolute DO NOT DO. I have had 3 payments taken from accounts. 2 from a cable company and one from a utility company, and they are not my accounts. The bank made good on it. Had a disaster once with Paypal.

I think that one day after enough people get lulled into electronic banking the banks will start feeing you to death like the free checking accounts that changed and the ATM that was put in place to be a savings to you that you now pay fees on.

Banks make big money on fees!

 

[ladder13]

Another step in the march towards a cashless society and prophecy fullfillment.

 

[Farmer17]

I pay every bill I can with a credit card to build up points. Plus I look at my statement on my phone every few days to check where all the money went and everything is neat an orderly and saved indefinitely. Much better than me balancing a checkbook and trying to read the carbon copies or figure out what I hastily wrote. I just cashed in about $4K worth of credit card points to pay for for the new furniture for the new house we just built.

 

[llowry61]

Electronic payments are highly regulated through EFTA (Electronic Funds Transfer Act) Reg E. Due to the complexities of complying with the Unathorized Errror Resolution Procedures, many banks will automatically refund a Disputed EFT and charge them back to the entity who completed the transaction.

I saw disputes occur over a year after the transaction and the bank refunded the funds.

We use CC's to pay bills as long as there is no fee, EFT's and the paper check option from the bank mentioned in the original post. One item to note, if you have the bank do the paper check option you need to account for the processing and time in transit to the vendor/payee if there is the potential of incurring late fees.

Today there are many good reasons to use online banking and fewer good reasons not too, but to each their own.