1. What is Online Bill Pay?
Online bill pay is a service that allows you to pay virtually anyone or any company through your online banking account. You determine who you want to pay, when you want to make the payment, and which account you want the payment to come from. It’s safe, secure and easy to use.
Online Bill Pay allows you to:
- View and pay all your bills online in one secure location while only having to remember one password.
- Have your bills sent electronically to your online Bill Pay account, so there’s less paper mail in your mailbox.
- Save money on stamps and trips to the post office.
- Pay last-minute bills on time with an expedited electronic payment or overnight check.
- Pay bills with the Mobile Banking Applications or with Mobile Web Banking.
2. How do I enroll in online bill pay?
You can enroll for online bill pay in three easy steps:
- Access and login to your account at https://www.firstmarkcu.org
- Click “Pay my Bills.”
- Select the checking account you’d like to pay from, then enroll.
- Terms and Conditions are deliver in the master online agreement.
3. How do I setup Online Bill Pay?
First, you need to enroll to activate your online bill pay account. If you haven’t enrolled, please follow the three steps shown above. If you have enrolled, you can make a payment in four easy steps:
- Grab a bill and login to your account at https://www.firstmarkcu.org
- Click on the “Pay my Bills” link.
- Add your payee from the “Payees” tab.
- Enter the amount and date you want to pay (we calculate the estimated date of arrival), then submit your payment.
4. How much does it cost to use Bill Pay?
There is no cost to use Bill Pay.
5. Who can I pay with Online Bill Pay?
You can pay virtually any business or individual with a mailing address within the United States and Puerto Rico. For example, you can pay utilities, cable bills or credit cards, or individuals such as a landlord, babysitter, or relative. You can also make charitable donations and gift payments.
6. How long does it take before my payment is received?
Generally, your payment is received within 2 to 7 days, depending on whether or not it is sent electronically or via paper check.
7. Who do I contact for Online Bill Pay questions?
Firstmark Credit Union Call Center at 210.442.0100 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
8. How are the scheduled payments processed with Online Bill Pay?
Most scheduled payments are sent electronically and funds are withdrawn from your account on the process date. For electronic payments, the process date is the date the payment is debited from your funding account. For paper checks, the payment is debited from your account when the payee cashes the check.
For same day processing, be sure to schedule your payment by 2:00 pm, CST.
9. What are Person-to-Person Payments?
These are eBill payments you can make to the lawn man, babysitter, or any person you may owe by email payments.
10. How can I schedule a Person-to-Person payment?
All you need is your payee’s email address to send them an electronic payment. Follow these simple steps to get started:
- Under the Payee tab, select “Add a Payee.”
- Under the “Add a Payee” box found on the left side of the page, select “Add a Person.”
- Complete the payee’s name, phone number and email address. Click “Next” located below the payee information.
- Provide a keyword. This is a single word known only to you and your payee. It can be anything you choose. Be sure to communicate the keyword to your payee. We recommend sharing this via telephone rather than an unsecure email. Click “Next.”
- Your payee is now ready for activation. Click on the “Activate Payee Now” button and select a delivery method for the one time Activation Code. Once you have received and submitted the Activation Code, you can schedule the payment.
- Click on the link found at the bottom of the Payee Verified screen titled “Schedule a payment to this payee.” The payment will remain pending until your payee completes the final step.
- Next, your payee will receive an activation email containing a secure link. By following this link, they will enter the designated keyword along with their account information. At the completion of this step, your scheduled payment will be processed.
11. What is eBill?
eBill is a feature that allows you to receive and pay electronic summary versions of paper bills directly from your online bill pay account.
12. How do eBills work?
eBills are delivered directly to your online bill pay account. Once you set up an individual eBill for a company you do business with, an eBill comes directly from that payee to your account. Examples of businesses that offer eBills are cable service providers, phone service providers, utility providers and credit card companies.
13. How do I pay an eBill?
To pay an eBill, simply choose the account you want to pay from, enter the amount you want to pay, and schedule when you want the payment delivered.
14. How will I know if eBill is available for a payee?
There are two easy ways to determine if a payee offers eBill. You can check to see if there is a “Setup eBill” link next to their listing on your online bill pay home page, or look for the “Sign Up” icon under their name in the “View Payees” section.
15. What are the primary benefits of eBill?
With eBill, everything you need is in one convenient location. Using eBill allows you to streamline your bill pay routine and have online access to your bills. That means you won’t have to keep track of paper bills. In addition, you can view past bill summaries at a glance.
16. How do I know when I have received an eBill?
You can sign up to receive an electronic alert when an eBill has been delivered to your account. You can receive these notices in the form of emails or text alerts to provide an extra reminder when a payment is due.
17. What information is included in an eBill?
Balance due, due date and minimum payment amount are included in your eBill. If you need additional details, there will be a link that lets you login to your account on your payee’s website, or you can check your paper statement.
18. Will I still receive paper statements when I have enabled eBills?
You will also continue to receive paper bill statements unless you contact the payee to stop sending those statements.
19. How are online Bill Payments delivered?
Payments are sent one of two ways – electronically or by paper checks. The majority of payments are delivered electronically. Your payment information, such as your account number, is sent via secure transmission. All other payments are made by paper checks that are mailed via the U.S. Postal Service that sends on your behalf.
20. What time does Bill Pay processing stop daily?
Payments must be submitted before 2 p.m. to be processed that day. A payment made after 2:00 p.m. CST will be processed the following business day.
To learn more about this service, visit Bill Pay’s webpage.
21. What are the primary benefits of online bill pay?
Here’s a quick list of the many ways you can benefit from using online bill pay:
- Save time. It takes only minutes to pay your bills each month. You save time on trips to the post office and filing away paper receipts. In addition, smart features such as recurring payments allow you to set up a schedule to pay your bills automatically.
- Save money. Online bill pay saves on postage, envelopes, late fees, and checks. If you pay just 10 bills per month, you can easily save over $75.00* per year.
- Stay organized. Your payment history (18 months) is stored online so you won’t have to file and sort through paper receipts.
- Gain peace of mind. You can schedule payments in advance so you won’t have to worry about paying bills when you travel. Bill pay reminders are also available to notify you it’s time to pay your bill.
- Help the environment by saving paper. With online bill pay, there are no checks to write or envelopes to mail. That’s good news for you and the environment.
22. Is online bill pay secure?
Paying bills online is one of the safest ways to pay your bills. Online bill pay helps guard against identity theft from lost or stolen checkbooks, bills and statements. It also increases your privacy because only you can access your account information, account numbers and payment history. As a result, you maintain tighter control of your account with real time access to your payment activity.
*Savings are approximate and based upon the average annual cost of stamps, envelopes, and checks required for paying ten bills per month.