Five Advantages to Making Payments Online
By Linda Scheele
Embracing the digital age is not always easy. Some of us dig in our heels and struggle against change. Others have learned that some things like ePayments just make good sense. In a nutshell, they save us personal time, the transactions are quicker, they are more secure than paper checks, and it helps the environment.
1. CONVENIENCE – Save time? Yes, please!
When you set up an online account with your physician or medical facility, you can elect to pay your statements directly from a bank account or charge to a credit card. Most offices allow you to set up multiple payment methods and then choose one at the time of payment. Now comes the easy part: the office emails you the statement, you access your account, and pay it with the click of a button. No more writing checks, stuffing envelopes, purchasing postage, and mailing them.
2. MORE SECURE – Get more protection? You bet!
While no method of payment is 100% secure, paper checks don’t offer the safety of electronic payments. Online financial transactions are encrypted by the banks and credit card companies. Paper checks, in the wrong hands, offer criminals your personal information, including name, address, account and routing numbers, and your signature. Check fraud is a real problem. Electronic checks, on the other hand, are covered under the Federal Reserve’s regulations on consumer rights and protection from errors and fraud.
3. ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY – Help the environment? I’m onboard!
Helping the planet is front and center these days—paying bills online helps in several ways. ePayments save on paper waste in the landfills. Less energy and fuel are used—less printing, processing, packaging, and transporting paper products. It’s an easy way to help reduce the impact on our planet.
4. REDUCE BILL CLUTTER – Spend less time managing paper? Yes!
It’s frustrating and time-consuming to process paper statements, create filing systems, retrieve them when needed, and then store the records on-hand for the required amount of time (IRS recommends 3-7 years). Electronic records of payments maintained by the physician office or facility offers an automatic backup of your own payment records so it’s a win-win.
5. EARN CASH-BASED REWARDS! - Earn some extra points or cash? Count me in!
Most credit cards offer reward points. And often those points translate into cash back, gift cards, or help reduce the balance due on the card. It’s like getting rewarded to pay a bill—something we can all appreciate.
In a world trying to recover from a pandemic, isn’t it nice to take advantage of something positive, safe, and easy?