Bill Pay Guide

1. Navigate to your Online Banking account online (or through the MyNCU Mobile App). If you have not yet set up your Online Banking account, see how to here.
2. Log in, and click the Bill Pay option in the top menu (or Pay in the mobile app).
3. Follow the steps to set up your Bill Pay service.
4. For more help on how to set up payees or automatic payments, explore the topics below.

Payees

A payee is anyone that you would like to send money to, be that a company or a person. Once your payee is added to the system, you can schedule a payment.

Add a Payee

1. To add a new payee, type the name of the payee in the “Need to pay someone new?” entry box near the top middle of the main payments page.
2. As you type, what you are typing is matched to a known payee. If you see your payee in the drop down list, click the name and the click the Add button.
3. If you do not see the name in the drop down, don't worry, just complete typing the name of your payee and click the Add button.
4. You will then be asked for some information about your payee:
5. Account Number – this is your account number with the payee. Enter the account number as it appears on your bill. When making a payment to a person and not a business, you may not have an account number to provide. If this is the case, leave the account number field blank.
6. Payee Address – this is the address to which you send your payment.
7. Payee Phone Number – enter the phone number your biller provides for questions about your bill.
8. If you are adding a company, look for a customer service phone number on your bill, statement, or invoice.
9. If you are adding a person, use the person's work, home, or mobile number.
10. Zip code – in some cases we do not ask for the entire address of your payee, but just for their zip code. When prompted to enter a zip code, enter the payee's zip code to which you send your payment.
11. Don't be alarmed if you are not asked for an address to which to send your payment. This means special arrangements are already in place with the company you are adding regarding how to remit payments to them. In many cases, a payment is sent electronically and therefore, an address is not needed. In other cases, the payee requires that payments be sent to an address that may be different from the address that appears on your bill
12. When adding your payee, you can also give your payee a nickname.
13. When your payee is added, it will display at the top of your payee list on the main payments page. The next time you come back to the screen, your payees will display in alphabetical order.

Edit a Payee

1. Locate the payee that needs to be updated in your list and click on its corresponding Options link.
2. Select the “Account Information” tab from the navigation on the left hand side of the Options window.
3. The information in the Account number, Category, Nickname, and Phone fields can be changed. If the Bill Pay service does not already have a payment relationship with the payee, you will be able to update the Address fields as well.

Hide a Payee

If your payee list is getting lengthy, consider “hiding” payees that you do not pay frequently. Hiding a payee simply removes it from displaying in your payee list. When hiding a payee, all of your payment history is retained and scheduled payments including recurring payments will continue to process.

To hide a payee:

1. Locate the payee that needs to be updated in your payee list and click on its corresponding Options link.

2. Click the “Hide it” link located at the bottom of the navigation tabs within the Options window.

The payee will be hidden from your payee list and the hidden payee indicator at the top of the main payments page will increment by one.

Unhide a Payee

To unhide a hidden payee:

1. Locate and click on the hidden payee indicator near the top of the main payments page. A list of your hidden payees will be displayed.

2. Click on the “Show” button next to the payee you want to unhide and your payee will be added to the top of your payee list. When you come back to the page later, the payee will be displayed in its appropriate alphabetical order.

Delete a Payee

If you are no longer making payments to a payee, you can delete it from the service. When deleting a payee, any payments scheduled for that payee will be automatically canceled. All previous payment history to the payee, however, will be retained for twenty-four (24) months from the time of the last payment.

To delete a payee:

1. Locate the payee to be deleted in your list and click on its corresponding Options link.

2. Click the “Delete it” link located at the bottom of the navigation tabs within the Options window.

3. Click on the “Yes-Delete” button to confirm deletion of the payee.

Note: Payees in the process of enrolling for an eBill cannot be deleted until your first eBill has arrived. Once the first eBill has arrived, the payee can then be deleted. You may, however, continue to receive eBills for this payee for up to two months depending on the billing cycle. Subsequent bills will be delivered to you directly by the biller.

Reminders

A Reminder is a simple way to never lose track of when your next payment is due. The Bill Pay system counts down the number of days until your next payment is due and displays the information next to your payee's name when you log in. You will also be sent an email alert ten (10) days before the due date.

A reminder does not mean your bill will be paid automatically. Your bill will only be paid automatically if you have specifically set up an automatic payment.

If you set up a reminder, when you log in, you will see the number of days until your next due date listed next to your payee's name.

Add a Reminder

To set up a reminder:

1. Locate the payee that needs to be updated in your list and click on its corresponding Options link.

2. Select the “Next due reminder” tab from the navigation on the left hand side of the Options window.

3. Enter the frequency you make that payment (once a month, twice a month, etc.), the next due date, and the typical amount of your payment. Note: the next due date must be at least ten (10) days or more in the future when setting up your first reminder.

4. Select your notification preferences.

5. Click the Save button.

Note: If you are enrolled for an eBill or set up a recurring payment, there is no need to set up a reminder. In fact, the Bill Pay system won't let you, but you will see a reminder when you log in. The next due date will be displayed to the left of your payee's name and you will receive an email when your bill arrives, or when your next recurring payment is scheduled to be sent.

Edit a Reminder

Follow the steps below to change the next due date or the frequency of your Reminders:

1. Locate the payee that needs to be updated in your payee list and click on its corresponding Options link.

2. Select the “Next due reminder” tab from the navigation on the left hand side of the Options window.

3. Update the frequency, next due date, typical amount, and/or your notification preferences.

4. Click the Save button.

Delete (Turn off) Reminders

Follow the steps below to stop the next due countdown and Reminder emails:

1. Locate the payee that needs to be updated in your payee list and click on its corresponding Options link.

2. Select the “Next due reminder” tab from the navigation on the left hand side of the Options window.

3. Click the “Turn off” link in the top right corner of the Options window.

eBills

An eBill is an electronic copy of your paper bill that you can view anytime from within the Bill Pay service and typically contains the same information as your paper bill or statement.

eBills are a secure and convenient way to keep all of your bills in one place. You will be notified when your bill arrives, and when it is due so you never have a late payment.

If you are signed up to receive an eBill, it does not mean your bill will be automatically paid. You can, however, set up automatic payment rules to pay your eBills.

Payees eligible to receive an eBill are identified by the “Get eBill” link on the left side of a payee's name on the main payments page.

eBill Enrollment

An eBill is not necessarily available for all of your payees.

Payees eligible to receive an eBill are identified by the “Get eBill” link on the left side of a payee's name on the main payments page.

To sign up for an eBill, click on the “Get eBill” link.

You will be presented with a short form to fill out usually prompting you to provide information that your biller will use to identify you such as the last four digits of your social security number, your account number, or other identifying information.

Once your eBill enrollment form is submitted, you will see a message indicating the system is waiting for your next eBill on the left side of the payee's name on the main payments page.

Note: Depending on your billing cycle, it may take one month or more to begin receiving your eBill. You will not be able to unsubscribe from receiving your eBill or to set up an automatic payment to pay your eBill until your first eBill has arrived.

Trial eBills

Some billers offer a trial period for eBills and from time to time, you may automatically be enrolled for an eBill trial.

For a limited time, usually ninety (90) days, you will receive an electronic version of your eBill right here online. During the trial period, you will continue to receive your paper bills but you can choose to stop receiving them at any time during the trial period and switch permanently to receiving an eBill.

If you do not opt to stop paper bill, at the end of the trial period your biller will stop sending eBills, however, you can sign up to receive eBills at any time.

File an eBill

When you are signed up for an eBill, when a bill arrives, we count down the days until it is due and display the countdown information alongside the name of your payee in the payee list on the main payments page.

When you make a payment through the Bill Pay service, the eBill is marked as paid and a “Waiting for next bill…” message is displayed to the left of the name of your payee.

You may elect, however, to make a payment to your payee outside of the Bill Pay service, or your eBill might not have any balance owed. In both of those cases, the Bill Pay service continues to countdown to the eBill's due date, eventually showing it as overdue.

In reality, the eBill is not overdue because you used a different method to pay it or no money was due. In this case, you can “file” the eBill. Filing the eBill is just a way to mark the bill as paid in the system without you actually scheduling a payment against it.

To clear out the current eBill, click the “File” link that appears beneath the overdue message next to the payee's name. The current eBill will be marked as paid and the “Waiting for next bill...” message will appear next to the payee's name until your next eBill arrives.

Un-enroll from eBills

To stop receiving an eBill for you payee:

1. Locate the payee in your list and click its Options link.

2. The Options window will open directly to the eBill tab.

3. Click on the “Stop this eBill” link.

Note: Any automatic payments rules based on receipt of your eBill will be canceled. Based on your billing cycle, it may take a month or more to begin receiving your paper statements again.

eBills and Paper Statements

Some billers stop sending your paper bills when they start sending eBills. For these billers, you will be prompted to agree to receive only eBills during the eBill enrollment process.

Other billers continue to send paper bills in addition to your eBills or allow you to choose if you want to continue to receive paper bills. These options will be clearly presented to you during the eBill enrollment process.

Funding Accounts

A funding account is the account that will be debited when making a payment using the Bill Pay service.

The “My funding account(s)” page displays a list of your funding accounts that have been, or are in the process of being added to the service.

If you have more than one funding account, set the account you pay out of most as your “default.” When making payments, we will automatically use your default account unless otherwise specified by you at the time payment is scheduled.

Add a Funding Account

The process to add an additional account to fund your bill payments is simple but may take a few days to complete.

To add a funding account:

1. Access the “My funding account(s)” page via the “Manage funding account(s)” link in the “I want to…” box located in the lower right section of the main payments page.

2. Click the “Add an account” button located at the bottom of the “My funding account(s)” page. If you do not see this button, contact your Financial Institution to understand if you are authorized to add funding accounts.

3. Provide the requested information, including account number and routing number.

Once your request has been submitted, your new account may need to be validated. 

Validate a Funding Account

After you have requested the addition of a funding account, your new account may need to be validated.

Within two (2) business days of your add account request, two (2) small deposits will be made to the account that you requested be added.

1. Look for those deposits in your account and make a note of the amounts.

2. Log back into the Bill Pay service and access the “My funding account(s)” page.

3. Click the validate link that corresponds to the account you are adding.

4. Enter the two amounts deposited to your account. The order does not matter.

You will have three (3) attempts to provide the correct amounts.

Note: If the validate link is not active, that means the deposits have not yet been made to your account. Please wait two (2) business days and then check the account you are adding for the amounts of the deposits made.

Edit a Funding Account

You can edit the nickname of your approved funding account(s) to help make them more easily identifiable.

To edit your funding account nickname:

1. Access the “My funding account(s)” page via the “Manage funding account(s)” link in the “I want to…” box located on the lower right section of the main payments page

2. Click on the Edit link corresponding to the account you would like to rename.

3. Enter a new nickname.

4. Click the Save button.

Delete a Funding Account

It is not necessary to do so, but if you are no longer paying bills from one of your funding accounts, you can delete it.

An account can be deleted as long as it is not:

• Your only funding account
• Your default funding account
• Being used for any scheduled or recurring payments

To delete a funding account:

1. Access the “My funding account(s)” page via the “Manage funding account(s)” link in the “I want to…” box located on the lower right section of the main payments page.

2. Locate the desired account in your list of accounts.

3. Click the Delete link associated with the account you are trying to delete. If the account is set as your default, it will not have a delete link.

4. Confirm your request to delete the account.

Note: You will not be allowed to delete a funding account that is being used for any scheduled or recurring payments. If you attempt to delete an account that is associated with scheduled or recurring payments, you will be provided with a list of payments or recurring rules that must first be canceled.

Payment and Processing

Three different kinds of payments are made to your payees: electronic payments and two different types of check payments.

Electronic Payments

Whenever possible, payment is issued to your payees electronically. Electronic payments can be delivered the fastest, usually within two (2) business days. Funds for the payment are debited from your account on the payment delivery date.

When the funds are debited from your account, the transaction will display in your account history with the name of the payee followed by ONLINE PMT. Ex: MY PAYEE ONLINE PMT

Trust Check Payments

The Bill Pay service has payment relationships with some payees who cannot accept electronic payments. In these cases, a Trust Check will be sent. This is a check drawn against the Bill Pay service corporate account.

Your payee will receive the check by the due date you specify and the funds will be debited from your account on the due date. The payee may actually cash the check at a later date.

When the funds are debited from your account, the transaction will display in your account history with the name of the payee followed by ONLINE PMT. Ex: MY PAYEE ONLINE PMT

Direct Check Payments

When a Direct Check is issued, the check behaves just as it would if you wrote the check right out of your checkbook. The funds will be debited from your account when the payee receives and negotiates the check.

To make sure your payment is delivered to your payee by the Due Date you specified, a Direct Check is sent up to five (5) days before that due date. Please make sure you have available funds in your account at least four (4) days prior to your selected due date as the funds will clear as soon as your payee receives and negotiates the check.

The following information is always printed on every check sent:

• Your name and address
• The company or person's name and your account number (if available)
• The payment amount
• The pay date
• Your payment memo (if you provided one). Memos are only included with check payments, not electronic payments.

Note: To determine if a payment will be paid electronically or by check, once the payment is scheduled, locate the payment in the “Scheduled payments” section on the right hand side of the main payments page and click the edit  icon. The “Type” field in the pop up box will indicate “Electronic” or “Check.”

Schedule a Payment

To schedule a payment:

1. Find the payee you want to pay in your payee list on the main payments page and indicate the amount you want to pay.

2. Select the day you want your payment to be delivered to your payee by entering the date or clicking on the calendar icon. Choose any date that is not a weekend or a holiday (when you click in the amount field, the first available payment date will automatically appear in the date field).

The soonest date available for selection is determined by the number of business days needed to deliver the payment to your payee. Electronic payments can be delivered in two (2) days. Check payments require a five (5) day lead time.

Use the calendar widget when scheduling payments to assist in understanding when a payment can be delivered. Available dates will be displayed in blue. Unavailable dates including weekends, holidays, or a date that would not allow for delivery of your payment in time are grayed out and not selectable.

3. Choose the funding account from which you want to pay if you have more than one. Your default funding account will be used automatically unless you specify otherwise.

Note: For payments made by check, you can choose to include a memo by clicking on the memo link prior to clicking the Pay button.

Edit a Scheduled Payment

You can edit any scheduled payment up until the time processing begins for the payment.

To edit a scheduled payment:

1. Locate the payment in the “Scheduled payments” section on the right hand side of the main payments page and click its corresponding edit  icon.

• • Deliver By date (use the calendar widget to help determine available dates)
  • Payment amount
  • Funding account from which you are paying (if you have more than one)
  • Payment category
  • Payment memo
  • Add or edit a personal note to your payment

3. Click the “Save Changes” button

Note: If the payment you are editing is part of a recurring payment rule, you will be asked if you would like to edit just the single payment, or the entire recurring payment rule.

Cancel a Scheduled Payment

You can cancel a scheduled payment up until the time processing begins for the payment.

To cancel a payment:

1. Locate the payment in the “Scheduled payments” section on the right hand side of the main payments page and click its corresponding cancel  icon.

2. You will be prompted to confirm your request to cancel the payment.

3. Click the “Yes, Cancel Payment” button.

Note: If the payment you are canceling is part of a recurring payment rule, you will be asked if you would like to cancel just the single payment, or the entire recurring payment rule.

Payment Memos

When scheduling a payment, you can add a memo by clicking on the “Memo” link below the Pay button prior to clicking the Pay button.

If the payment is sent by check, the memo will be included on the check. Your name and account number will be printed on a check whether you provide a memo or not.

If your payment is sent electronically, any memo you input will not be included in the payment instructions.

Note: If you forget to add a memo to your payment, you can add one to any scheduled payment by editing that payment. Once the payment begins processing, however, you will no longer be able to add a memo.

Payment Notes

You can add a note to any of your scheduled or completed payments. A note may help you keep track details of your payment. Notes are never sent to or shared with your payee.

To add a note to a scheduled payment:

1. Locate the payment in the “Scheduled payments” section on the right hand side of the main payments page and click its corresponding edit  icon.

2. Type a note in the notes section of the pop up window that appears.

3. Add your note and click the “Save Changes” button. Notes cannot be added to payments that have begun, or completed processing.

To add a note to a payment that has already been processed:

1. Locate the payment in the “Recently processed payments” section on the right hand side of the main payments page, or on the “My Payments” history page and click on its corresponding view icon.

2. Type a note in the note section.

3. Click the “Save & Close” button.

Payment Statuses

There are several statuses associated with a payment as it goes through its lifecycle. Below is an explanation of the various statuses:

• Scheduled: The payment scheduled to be sent has not yet begun processing.
• In Process: The payment has begun processing.
• Completed: The payment has been processed. Additional information is provided for processed payments including:
  • Payment delivery method
  • Date the biller received the payment
  • Date the money was withdrawn from your payment account (available for payments made electronically and by trust check)
  • Date the biller posted the payment to your account (if the biller provides this information)
• Canceled: You canceled the payment for this bill.
• Failed: The payment was returned either because there was a problem when an attempt was made to withdraw the payment from your payment account or because the information sent with your payment was not sufficient for the biller to credit your account. This status can also occur when the funding account associated with the payment has been closed.

Non-Sufficient Funds

In the event that funds are not available when an attempt is made to debit your account, various scenarios are possible to remedy the situation based on how the payment was made to your payee and the Bill Pay system's relationship with that payee. Below is a listing of the potential scenarios and outcomes:

Payment was made by Direct Check:

When payment is issued by Direct Check, the check behaves just as it would if you had written the check right out of your checkbook.

If funds are not available when the check is presented for payment, you will be responsible for any non-sufficient funds (NSF) charges to your account and potentially to your payee. Since the payee will not have received valid payment, you will need to issue another payment to them.

Payment was made electronically or by Direct Check and the Bill Pay system has a 'reversible' relationship with the payee:

If the debit to your account is retuned due to non-sufficient funds, an email will be sent to you informing you of the occurrence and indicating that a second attempt to debit the funds will be made.

If the second debit request is returned due to NSF, the payment will be pulled back from your payee and you will be notified via email of the occurrence.

Payment was made electronically or by Direct Check and the Bill Pay system does not have a 'reversible' relationship with the payee:

If the debit to your account is retuned due to NSF, an email will be sent to you informing you of the occurrence and indicating that a second attempt to debit the funds will be made. In this instance, your bill has been paid by the Bill Pay system and the Bill Pay system needs to collect the funds from you.

If the second debit request is returned due to NSF, your Bill Pay account will be frozen and you will not be able to schedule any further payments. You will be sent an email informing you of the occurrence along with steps required to remedy the issue.

Note: In this instance, your bill has been paid and reimbursement is owed to the Bill Pay system.