Choosing and Using Online Bill Payment

Gone are those days when one had to write a cheque and stand in a long line at a Bank counter to make payment of a utility bill. Utility bill was by definition then either an Electricity company or MTNL. With the advent of Internet things have begun to look different. Now no more waiting for bills, no more writing cheques, no more waiting in line, no more checking whether account debited, in short no more headaches.

Internet brought about revolution in many ways - e-mails, information at finger tips, online banking, music and entertainment and of course online BILL Payment. Online Banking and Bill Payment is truly powerful tool of this modern day technology.

In India ICICI introduced the bill payment facility in a big way through their concern - BILLJUNCTION.COM. The name itself was interesting. It was indeed a junction for all your utility bill payments. Over the period others joined and offered similar facilities and advantages.

Basically today there are two kinds of Bill Payment services available:

1. Bill Payment Companies dedicated to the service of utility bill payments.

   
   




2. Banks providing bill pay service as part of online banking.

   
   

Should I choose the 1st or the 2nd?

Let us consider the advantages/disadvantages of each.

A. Bill Payment Companies** - BillJunction, BillDesk, TimesMoney etc.

ADVANTAGES .*

1. They offer the choice of paying your bills from any Bank account of your choice.

   
   




2. They offer larger choice of utilities for payment. E.g. Energy cos., telecom, credit cards, insurance and even magazine subscriptions.

   
   




3. Since their business is bill payment their sites are more organised and help you to keep proper track of the bills paid.

   
   




4. Their service is also more focussed and companies like BillJunction even offer to collect cheques from you if their is a delay or problem in uploading your bills to the site.

   
   




5. You receive prompt e-mails reminding you of bills that are due and continuous reminders.

   
   

DISADVANTAGES .*

1. Since Banks are not networked as of now the payments are routed through the ECS mechanism. As a result you have to effect payment on the site atleast 10 days before due date.

   
   




2. Their is a possibility that you may have effected payment without realising that there was no balance in your account.(These sites have no way to check your account balance). This could result in your payment getting rejected a few days later and consequent delay in utility payment with the danger of the service being stopped.

   
   

A. Banks providing bill pay service - Banks like HDFC, ICICI Bank, GTB, UTI, Citibank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and many others provide this facility.

ADVANTAGES .*

1. Since your account with the bank will be debited you can effect the payment one or two days in advance of the due date.

   
   




2. Mostly the banks are networked and therefore if there is no balance in the account the system will not allow you to make the payment. So you know instantly the status of your bill.

   
   




3. You could make the payment using the credit card of the bank. This will allow you to make the payment and get a free credit period of 45 to 52 days.(You must time your bill payment properly in this case to make maximum use of credit period)

   
   

DISADVANTAGES .*

1. These bank sites are not always well organised. They hardly send e-mail reminders.

   
   




2. The number of utility companies they offer for making bill payments are restricted.

   
   




3. You can only make payment from the account of that particular bank.

   
   

In the final analysis the best approach would be to register with a Bill Payment Company like BILLJUNCTION and also with your Bank preferably with the bank that has offered you credit card. CITIBANK is a good choice but has limited utility service companies for Mumbai residents. This way you could get the best of both. If you are in a hurry to pay and you have not much days before due date the Banks are the best bet for payment. But if you don;t have balance with the bank then the Bill Payment companies will give you a choice to choose you debit account. But if you can use the credit card you benefit in many ways - an extended credit period and reward points.

Online Bill Payment has become a boon to the busy man.