Electronic Bill Pay – Help & Frequently Asked Questions

What is Electronic Bill Pay?

Electronic Bill Pay is the most convenient service to be introduced since ATM's. As a subscriber, you can pay any bill by Internet 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

How do I get Started?

The first thing you'll need to do is gather your information (names, addresses, account numbers, etc.) about everyone you want to pay through Electronic Bill Pay. Once you have your information together, log into your First Summit Bank online banking account and choose the Bill Payment option on the left menu and you can begin adding payees and paying your bills online.

How soon can I start making payments?

You can begin making payments right away once you access the bill pay site.

Is there anyone I cannot pay through Electronic Bill Pay?

Only government taxing authorities or court directed payments such as alimony and child support. No payments outside the United States. There are limitations on payments to security companies such as Ameritrade for stock purchases or trade.

Should the processing date I give be the date the payment is actually due?

No. You need to allow at least five business days for payments to reach your payee. Be sure to remember that, although you can schedule a payment at any time, payments are actually sent to payees only on business days.

How far in advance can I schedule a payment?

You can schedule a single payment for up to 60 days in advance.

How soon are funds actually taken out of my account?

Bill payments are debited from your account on the processing date you requested.

What happens if I don't have enough money in my account to cover a bill payment?

If funds are not available on the requested processing date, your bill payment will be canceled.

What is the difference between a variable/single bill payment and a recurring payment?

A variable/single bill payment is a one time payment such as your telephone bill where the amount fluctuates each time. Or perhaps it is a payment you do not make regularly such as a florist you use only occasionally.

A recurring payment is one made regularly for the same dollar amount, on the same day each month such as your car or mortgage payment. You need only to set up a recurring payment once in the system and only call again when the payment is to be changed or canceled. Otherwise, your recurring payments will be made automatically.

When and how are my payments delivered and how can I ensure that my payee receives my payment by the due date?

You may schedule payments to be initiated on the day you enter the information, on a future date or on the same date each month. Although you can enter payment information 24 hours a day 7 days a week, payments can only be initiated on business days.

After funds are withdrawn from your account, we may remit your payments by electronic funds transfer, or if the biller does not accept electronic payments, by mailing your payee a check drawn on an account we maintain for this purpose, or by some other appropriate means. Because of the time it takes to remit your payment to the payee, they will not receive payment on the processing date (the date you instructed us to deduct the funds from your account). Therefore, in order to provide sufficient time for payments to be received by your payee, the processing date should be at least five (5) business days before the bill's actual due date.

Why does it take up to five business days for payments?

Although a number of your payees accept payments electronically, many do not. For those that do not accept electronic payments, we must send a check to that payee through the U.S. mail. Once the check is received by the payee, it may also take a day or so for that payee to process the check and post it to your account. Even for electronic payments, it may take two or three days for your account to be posted.

How close to the original payment date can I change or cancel a bill payment?

You can change or delete a bill payment up until 1:00 p.m. CST of the processing date you originally gave us.

What should I do if a payee has not posted my payment?

First, be sure to allow the five (5) business days for a payee to receive your payment. If a payee does not post your payment within five (5) business days of the date you requested the payment to be processed, either call the toll free number on the bill pay site or give us a call at the bank. We will follow up on the payment and get back to you as soon as possible.

How can I prove payments and transfers were made?

Each time you enter a payment you are given a transaction number so you can be sure we received your request. In addition, payments will appear on your monthly statement as well as being listed in your online banking history.

How do I pay for my Electronic Bill Pay service?

Electronic Bill pay is provided for fee of $5.95/mo.

How can I cancel my Electronic Bill Pay service?

To make sure no payments are missed or duplicated while you're taking over bill payment yourself, you will first need to delete any pending scheduled payments. You will need to also contact the bank to turn your service off.

How can I be sure no one else can access my bill paying service?

You will access the bill payment system through our online banking system which requires the unique dual factor authentication (Password & PIN). Only individuals with this information can access your account. Be certain not to release this information to anyone you do not want to fully authorize as a user on your account.

When accessing the Bill Pay site a secure connection is established that prevents any outside parties from viewing transaction information. Any data that is transferred between locations is also made over secure connections utilizing data encryption, and all account information is kept behind a firewall to prevent any outside access.

If I currently have an automatic debit for a bill coming out of my checking account, should I cancel this debit and use my new bill pay program?

It is recommended that you NOT cancel any auto debit UNLESS your new bill pay program has the ability to electronically remit this payment to your merchant. To determine if your merchant is electronic with your new bill pay program, simply call the service and this information will be provided to you. Merchants who have their own debit program will often times not ALLOW 3rd party processors to remit payments to them. Our main concern is that your bill be paid in a timely manner and safely. Some typical merchants are, Insurance companies, Utility companies and Mortgage companies.

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