Bill Pay FAQ

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Bill Pay FAQ

What is Bill Pay?

Bill Pay in BayFedOnline enables you to set up recurring payments, make one-time payments, and track your payments to individual merchants or utilities without physically writing a check.

Select the Bill Pay tab from the menu in BayFedOnline. If this is your first time using the Bill Pay Service, you will then be prompted to verify your personal information during the sign-up process. Once complete, begin creating your payees.

To schedule an automatic recurring Bill Pay:

Select the payee’s Options link.
Select Automatic payment on the left side of the Options window.
Fill out the requested information.
Select the Save button.

The next scheduled payment will be listed under Scheduled Payments in the My Payments section. Additionally, automatic payments are indicated with a loop icon and the number of days until the next payment displayed to the left of the payee in the My Bills & People I Pay section.

How do I add a payee?

To add a new Bill Pay payee:

Type the name of the Payee you would like to add in the Need to pay someone new field.
Select Add.
Fill out the form with all requested information.
Select Add payee.

Once you have completed the process, you will receive a confirmation email.

Is there a charge for using Bill Pay?

There are no monthly or per payment transaction fees for using Bill Pay. Exception items may have fees associated with them, such as expedited payments, copies of bill payment checks or stop payment orders. Please refer to our Fee Schedule for details. For other terms and conditions, refer to the Electronic Services Disclosure.

How are my payments sent?

Your payment is sent based on the payee. There are two types of payees:

Electronic payees are sent via ACH payment. Electronic payments may take up to three business days to reach their destination. The Bill Pay Service determines which payees can receive electronic payments. Utilities and bigger businesses are usually equipped to receive payments electronically.
Check payees (those that were added to the system manually) will be issued a paper check by the Bill Pay system, and the check will be sent in the mail. You are asked to allow five business days for a check to reach its destination.

You will know which type of payment your payee will receive by scheduling a payment and viewing the calendar. If there are three days between the Send On and Delivered By dates, the payment will be electronic. If there are five days between the Send On and Delivered By dates, the payment will be by check.

How long does it take to process a payment?

At least two business days for electronic payments and at least five business days for check payments. The cutoff is 7 PM Pacific Time of that business day. Expedited payments may also be made for a fee.

When will the money leave my account?

Funds are debited electronically via ACH one to two business days after the "send on date."

Is there anyone I cannot pay?

You can pay anyone in the United States that you normally would pay by check (these can include payments to a relative, friend, or any vendor). We discourage using Bill Pay to make state and federal tax payments or court-ordered payments, including property taxes, child support, garnishment, IRS, etc. These types of payments will be scheduled at your own risk. There may be problems with receipt and application by Government agencies and we recommend that you always confirm that the payments were applied. Please take this into consideration and consider mailing a check, as there may be issues if you use the bill payment system.

What is an eBill?

It is a bill automatically generated from a payee, where the payment generated is based on the amount and due date of your bill.

How do I access eBills?

Bill Pay eBill Availability - Existing Payee
For payees that offer the eBill option a Get eBill link will display next to the payee.

Bill Pay eBill Availability - New Payee
While adding a new payee, Bill Pay will determine for you if eBills are available for the payee. You will be provided with a screen that allows you to set up eBills during the time you are adding the payee.

How do I set up automatic payments for eBills?

Locate your payee in your list of payees and select the Options button.
When the Options window opens, click on the Automatic payment button on the left hand navigation.
To set up an automatic payment based on your eBill, select Use my bill information to determine the date and amount. If an eBill is available for this payee but you are not currently enrolled for one, selecting Set up an eBill (under YourBill (eBill)) will link you to the eBill enrollment page. Complete the required information then select Get your eBill delivered here.
Enter the following information: What funding account you want to pay out of, how much you want to pay (the full balance or the minimum amount due), when to pay (as soon as you receive the bill or when the bill is due).
Select Save.

You can also create custom rules telling Bill Payment what to do based on your bill. Examples of a custom rule are:

If my bill is less than $100.00, pay the full balance.
If my bill is greater than or equal to $100.00, pay only the minimum due.

What is the limit on a payment amount?

$9,999.00 per transaction, and $19,999.00 per day. The limit parameters are from 7 PM Pacific Time through 7 PM Pacific Time the following day.

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

If the payment is returned for any reason, the Bill Pay service will be blocked. If the payment was returned because the account did not have sufficient funds, Bill Pay will resubmit the payment up to three times. These attempted debits cannot be stopped. There may be insufficient funds fees as a result. Please see our Fee Schedule for details.

After the first rejection, you will be sent an email stating that the payment could not be debited and that the Bill Pay service has been blocked.

While the block is in place, any payments scheduled to occur during the blocked period will be cancelled.

Once the payment successfully clears your checking account, the block will be lifted. This will happen within three business days.

Once the block is removed, any automatic and one-time payments scheduled to be sent during the blocked period would need to be rescheduled. Recurring payments will be reinstated.

If sufficient funds are not available as of the third re-attempted debit, your overdrawn balance may be sent to a third party collection company in order to recover the funds and you are liable for any fees required for collection of the funds.

Why are some payments sent in the form of a paper check?

Unfortunately, not all businesses are set up to receive electronic payments. When an electronic payment is accepted, that is the default for how the payment will be made.

Why should I use Bill Payment instead of writing a check myself?

The Bill Payment system is for members who want to save time and cut down on paper waste. By setting up recurring payments, you can also benefit from peace of mind knowing that you won't miss a bill when it comes due.

How can I select which account I am paying from?

When paying a bill in Bill Pay, use the drop-down menu that shows your available funding accounts. If you don't see the option you want there, you may add additional accounts by going to the main Bill Pay page and clicking on the link for Manage Funding Accounts in the bottom right.

How do I add another funding account?

You may add additional accounts by going to the main Bill Pay page and clicking on the link for Manage Funding Accounts in the bottom right.