44 - Use online bill pay
FACTS
- On average, 4.8 pieces of mail are delivered every day to over 149 million addresses.
- One of the fastest growing robbery crimes is identity theft by stealing mail.
- With password protection, more than one level of authentication, secure sites, and 100% protection in case of fraud, online bill paying is much safer than putting a check in the mailbox.
- Internet use and electronic account monitoring is the fastest way to detect fraud and decreases losses from identity fraud.
- Banking information can be accessed via the Internet anytime, anywhere.
- Paying bills online saves the average consumer $6 in stamps and 4 hours of time every month.
- 18.5 million trees would be saved annually if consumers viewed and paid bills online.
- Go to your bank’s website, click on “Online Banking,” and follow the instructions to set up online bill pay.
- Print out statements, view transactions, check balances, pay bills, transfer funds, and look for other financial information at your own convenience.
- Stop receiving bank statements and bills in the mail by signing up for online delivery.
- If you’re not able to connect online, then set up automatic payments over the phone. You may still receive a statement, but your payments will be automatically deducted from your bank account.
Online bill paying is more cost-effective, environmentally friendly, quicker, safer, and more convenient than the traditional open-the-envelope, write-a-check, lick-the-stamp, and place-in-your-mailbox method. Do you need any more compelling reasons?
