Assorted

[_jems_]

So, I was paying my bills the other day, and I started wondering what it's like elsewhere. I can't imagine not having e-billing, giro payments, and online banking in general. Plus, paying all your bills in one go at the end of each month makes me happy. But I get the feeling that the US is still stuck in that same old "check-is-in-the-mail" archaic

Comments

[quiet_rebel]

But I get the feeling that the US is still stuck in that same old "check-is-in-the-mail" archaic bill-paying that was the norm when I lived there twenty years ago
Nope, I pay all my bills online. My parents still send checks though, maybe it's a generation thing? Only thing I use checks for is my rent, but that's because they charge a fee if we use a credit card, plus the office is right there so it's easier to drop it off.

[_jems_]

See, I found the whole check thing archaic even 20 years ago. And now? We don't even have checks anymore in Sweden. At least I don't know anyone with a checkbook. Also, you use a credit card to pay the bills? I've never heard of that.

I definitely think that it's a generational thing here, but more than anything, it's a matter of whether they live a modern lifestyle. My parents are over sixty and use online banking.

One thing that's surprising me is that US peeps seem to be fine with having their bills due just about any which day of the month. I know that was one of the things that drove my mother NUTS, because here you just have to deal with it once a month and you're done.

[spectralbovine]

I actually didn't consider that aspect when I answered that question. I was just thinking of the online paying part. Although I don't really care when exactly my bills are due since they get magically paid anyway. Having them all due at the end of the month would make them easier to keep track of, but it might also make me cringe that the big bolus of payments. Then again, my rent is a bolus in and of itself.

[spectralbovine]

Weeds did have kind of a rocky fourth season, but I got excited when I found out it was coming back in a week or two, so I guess I'm still good with it.

I've never even heard of giro. All of my bills are paid either online with a credit card or online with a bank transfer (from a website). Even my rent is a bank transfer (from the bank).

[_jems_]

I think giro is used in Britain, but no one in the US seemed to know what it was when we lived there. I guess that hasn't changed, huh?

Of course, I shudder at the thought of paying bills with a credit card! Or do you mean a debit card? Because paying interest on your bill payments?! Yeah, that sounds really stupid to me.

[spectralbovine]

I do mean credit card! And I don't pay interest since I always pay my bill in full each month. A debit card would work as well for most systems, but I heart reward points.

[sinca]

This. We do that with our American Express card, put a few bills on it (like mobile phone and cable) then pay it off each month and a little while later AmEx will give us a trip or something with the points.

[meko00]

I don't use e-billing, but I've been thinking of starting to do it. It's just... I prefer to keep durable records in case of a computer meltdown or similar. I did try to get my various bills from Telia arrive together, to no avail.

[_jems_]

I've been using e-billing since I first heard of it. Main selling point? No billing charges! But I actually feel the exact opposite - I'm happy that I don't have to deal with those extra papers (I tend to not know how long I should keep them, so I keep them FOREVER), and since the bank stores all the details, I know that they'll be available to me for as long as I might need them.

[dtissagirl]

I pay 99% of my bills through online banking. The 1% left is my building's freaking utility bill, which is run by an office of OLD PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE 16th CENTURY who won't bother to figure out how to actually DO their banking properly and thus I actually have to GO TO THEIR OFFICES once a month and write a check. I hate them with every fiber of my being. And THEY KNOW I hate them because I say it to their faces every month. GAH.

Here in Brazil no one sends checks/cash in the mail [I don't think the post office even allow it?]. The great thing is that any bank will accept your payment for most monthly bills. And you can also pay them online, directly on ATMs [all of them read barcodes!], or on lottery houses and some post offices.

[_jems_]

Hey, if someone forced me to do that, I'd tell it to their face too! Often!

When I lived in the US, you were able to go to a place of business (utility company, phone company, etc) and pay in cash directly, which was more what I meant with "cash" (not sending it through the mail), but if I tried to pay a bill directly to a company in Sweden, I'm pretty sure they'd look at me like I was crazy. Everything's handled through billing, whether it's online or using snail mail.

I like that ATM thing! That could probably be useful here too. Not for me, so much, but I know that online banking has really wreaked havoc with the banking options for people who aren't computer savvy (like my 87 year old grandmother, for example).

[dtissagirl]

but if I tried to pay a bill directly to a company in Sweden, I'm pretty sure they'd look at me like I was crazy. Everything's handled through billing, whether it's online or using snail mail.Oh, right. Yes, that is exactly the same here. Most everyone get their bills in the mail [or email] and they can pay them wherever is easier. No big company will receive payments directly, no. That would be weird. *g

[_jems_]

I think one big reason why ATMs haven't developed this way in Sweden is that people are using cash less and less. They're actually trying to get away from the Cash is King mentality (stores are safer if there's not a lot of cash on hand, stuff like that).

Automatic payments are pretty prevalent here too, but I prefer e-billing, because then I can control whether a bill is paid or not, and when. The when is the most important part, because I prefer to pay my bills as soon as I get paid, in order to see just how much money I have for the rest of the month. When there are automatic payments made, I sometimes forget about one bill or the other and I'm left with less money than I thought I'd have.

Oh come on, you know you love the banking talk! *g*

[shannigansx]

In the US, I still pay by checks simply because I never know what amount I'll have in my account, because I have no job. Except for my loans which come out of my account automatically. Also, sometimes my mom helps with a bill or two (especially when I'm in France), so it helps that the bills still come in the mail to me

[_jems_]

Okay, but why does it help to pay by check if you don't know your balance? When I go to my online bank, I can see exactly what I have in my account(s), what bills I have outstanding, what's coming up next month, etc. I can also take out loans, apply for credit cards and open new accounts with just a few clicks.

We have automatic payments here too (my mortgage and car insurance are automatic, for instance), but I prefer approving each bill before I pay it, which is why e-billing works so much better for me.

[shannigansx]

Oops. I was thinking of automatic withdrawals and not knowing what my balance would be the day the payment is taken out. My brain is with me today. I basically haven't gone paperless, because I'm not always the one who pays the bill. Once I finish school and have a job, I will do everything online. It's so much easier and I'm always online anyway. I always log-in to my online account to see what's going on with bank balance and such. Especially useful since I'm not always in the US and don't know the daily exchange rate.

more info on French system

[julietlaw]

Okay, but why does it help to pay by check if you don't know your balance?

Stepping in to answer this one. ;)

When you pay by check it can take longer for the money to be transfered, which can be useful for some people. Take a medium-sized grocery store: they wait until they have a consequent amount of checks to send them (via the post or personal delivery) to the bank and then the bank has to process them so sometimes your check doesn't go through until a week later. [Whereas credit cards are processed in the night following your payment.]

Moreover, when I worked in tourism people sometimes asked us to wait until a certain date to drop their checks (for their pay checks to come in at the end of the month for example) and since it wasn't systematic we always said yes. Checks can be convenient for that reason.