Whether you’re starting to pay bills for the first time or you’ve been paying them by mail for years, this step-by-step guide will show you how to manage your bills from one place – your Metairie Bank Online Banking account.
Not only will your bills be in one location for easy management, but you’ll also be able to set up alerts and auto-payments! Then, you can concentrate on the more important things in life, like catching up on your favorite TV series. Let’s get started!
Step 1: Gather All Your Bills
First, you need to figure out what bills you have. To add them into online banking, you are going to need the payee’s name, your account number with them, and the billing address. All of these should be found on your previous billing statement.
Step 2: Sign On to Online Banking and Sign Up for Bill Pay
If you haven’t already signed yourself up for bill payment, it’s as easy as signing in to your account clicking the Bill Payment option (under Payment Services) and agreeing to the terms and conditions.
Step 3: Start Adding Payees
Now that you have all your payees and account numbers, start adding them to your bill pay account. There are a few options at this point. The bill payment system may already have an established relationship with some payees, so those may auto-fill and ask only for your account number. These bills are the most common and will be paid electronically.
For unestablished payees, you will need the address where payments are sent. This means that payments may be sent as a physical check. — “But why would I use online bill pay if my payments are being mailed anyway?” — Great question! You’ll still save money because you don’t have to buy your own checks or stamps. Plus, you don’t have to spend time writing out a check. One click and your payment is mailed for you!
You also have the option to send payments to family and friends at other financial institutions. For instance, you want to pay your friend back but don’t have cash? Send him an electronic payment instead of writing a check. To do this, you will need the payee’s routing number and account number.
Step 4: Check for E-Bills and Sync
Lucky you! Some of your payees have e-bills available. This means that your bill can be synced directly to your account with the payee, so you can receive a notification when your bill is due. This is especially good for bills that have varying amounts each month, like the electricity bill or credit cards. To set these up, you will need to enter your username and password for the payee’s website to sync them with online bill pay. Once synced, you will get an email notification when the e-bill is received.
Step 5: Set Up Your Payments
Now the fun part… it’s time to pay the bills. Enter the amount you want to pay, select your due date, and press Pay! You can also set up auto-payments, so your reoccurring bills can get paid on time every month with hardly any effort on your end. Just be aware that your balance needs to be sufficient to take care of your payments on the date you set.
Now that your bills are basically managing themselves, what are you supposed to do with all your free time? Here are some ideas: 50 Free Things To Do in New Orleans.
Happy Bill Paying!