Our new and improved Online Banking Bill Pay service gives you more flexibility and control over scheduling your payments. Now you can schedule payments to be sent any date you wish. Get ahead of your bills by paying before the due date. Neat!
Here’s what you need to know about the change:
Effective February 17, 2023:
All previously scheduled electronic payments will be debited from your account ONE DAY EARLIER than they would have been debited in the former Bill Pay service.
- Example: If your electronic payment was scheduled to be sent on Wednesday, February 22, it will now be debited from your account on Tuesday, February 21.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
- Log onto Online Banking today and confirm you have sufficient funds to clear your scheduled payments. Make a transfer to your checking account if needed.
- After the transition on February 22, you will be able to log in to Online Banking and edit, add, cancel or schedule new payments. If you have eBills, you will need to re-enroll each payee.
- You may also call us at (805) 543-1816 or visit any branch with questions. Please note we are closed on Monday, February 20 in observance of federal holiday Presidents’ Day.
When does Bill Pay send electronic payments instead of a check?
As with our former Bill Pay service, there are occasions when bills cannot be paid electronically. This is based on the payee (biller) and whether they accept electronic payments or not. When an electronic payment cannot be made, the Bill Pay service issues a check. The new, upgraded Bill Pay service launching on February 22 works just like our old system when determining whether to send a paper or electronic payment. You will notice the new service is sending a paper check as the delivery time is five business days.
Is anything different when scheduling a new payment?
The former Bill Pay service has a “Due Date Focus,” which means you would input your bill’s due date, and the system decides when to issue the payment so that it would be paid on that due date. The new, upgraded Bill Pay service has a “Send Date Focus,” which means you can control the date the payment is sent to your payee.
When scheduling a payment’s “Send Date,” note this is the date that funds will be debited from your checking account if the payment is electronic. Electronic payments will be delivered to the payee on the following business day. If the bill will be paid by check, the check will be mailed on the next business day. That payee (biller) will receive the check in accordance to standard USPS delivery timeframes. We recommend scheduling the payment send date far enough in advance to accommodate these timeframes.
Learn how to schedule and edit payments here >>
When scheduling a payment, you will be asked how you would like the payment to be sent. The system will then tell you what day it will arrive at the payee/biller. Based on the Payee’s capabilities, the payment will go out one of two ways:
- Electronic – If the payment shows as electronic, you should enter the Send Date to be one day earlier than you want the payment to arrive. Funds will debit your account on the Send Date.
- Check – If the payment shows as Check, you should schedule delivery five business days prior to your intended Due. This five day period allows us time to create and mail the check on your behalf. Funds will debit your account when the check is cashed by the Payee (biller).
PRO TIP: In the new, upgraded Bill Bay service, you could choose to have all of your Bill Pay payment(s) scheduled and sent on a select day of the month, and preferably as long as they are prior to the bill’s due date. For example, if your Direct Deposit is credited to your checking account on the 1st of the month, then you could schedule all of your Bill Pay payments with a “Send Date” of the 2nd. This configuration may help ensure you have sufficient funds available. As always, please monitor your accounts!
I scheduled some Bill Pay payments in the old system before the transition — do I need to do anything?
After the Bill Pay service and Online Banking transition on February 22, we recommended logging in and reviewing your previously scheduled Bill Pay payments. At this time, you may cancel, edit, add or reschedule payments. Electronic payments will now be debited from your account ONE DAY EARLIER than they would have been our former Bill Pay service. Here’s a few examples of how it works:
- On February 10, 2022, you scheduled a one-time mortgage payment of $1,500 for February 28, 2022. The payment is electronic, and will be delivered to the payee on February 28. However, you will now be debited on February 27 for $1,500.
- You set up automatic recurring auto loan payments of $350 for the due date of the 15th of each calendar month. The payment is electronic, and will be delivered to the payee on the 15th of each calendar month. However, you will now be debited on the 14th of each calendar month for $350.
Making changes to scheduled payments is easy. Here’s how to do it >>
IMPORTANT: If sufficient funds are not available in your checking account, we will process the transactions based on the overdraft options you have agreed to and are available. This includes use of your Share Savings Account, your pre-established Overdraft Line of Credit, or Courtesy Pay (at our discretion), in accordance with your account terms and conditions or credit agreement. If you have overdraft protection on your checking account, your request for the Bill Payment transfer out of your checking account will be considered a request for an overdraft transfer or loan advance if it is needed to complete the transaction. Overdraft protection will be handled in a manner consistent with the overdraft services you previously requested and have available at the time.
I had eBills, do I need to re-enroll in the new system?
eBills are electronic versions of paper bills. An eBill arrives from a biller into your Bill Pay account service the same way a paper bill arrives from a biller into your mailbox.
After the transition on February 22, you will need to re-enroll with each eBills payee. This includes entering the credentials (username, password, security questions, etc.) for each payee you have set up. (e.g. PG&E, Charter, SoCal Gas, Verizon, etc.),
Once complete, you will have immediate access to your eBills. If you do not re-enroll, your payees (billers) will begin sending you paper bills in accordance with their accounts receivable guidelines. Note it may take an entire billing cycle for paper bills to resume.
What are the process and cut-off times for scheduled payments?
The new, upgraded Bill Pay service payment processing time remains the same as it was in the former Bill Pay service. Payments will continue to be processed at 2:00 p.m. PT on regular business days. Holidays may impact this schedule.