Paying bills electonically does NOT mean they're unaffected by USPS slowdowns. [View all]

[CincyDem]

I noticed another thread where the OP rightly griped about getting a late fee on his CC when his payment showed up late, in spite of mailing it 10 days in advance. Many of the responses were - you should consider paying electronically.

Last year, I had reason to dig into how those electronic payments are actually processed. After many long conversations with my bank, I was surprised to learn that many "electronic" payments are actually still mailed. They're not "end-to-end" electronic. I was also surprised to learn that the bank doesn't feel responsible for the timing on payments that aren't end-to-end electronic. They pretty much said - yeah...what can we do about mail service. And that was before all this chit with DeJoy.

Your bank probably has electronic transfer set up with the big payees...major CC companies and local utilities for example. But for smaller payees...doctors, maybe your mortgage, local vendors...those electronic payments usually get processed to a paper check that is then mailed. Every night, the bank sends an electronic file to a payment processor who prints a check, stuffs it, and drops it in the mail. And it moves along just as if you had dropped it in a box yourself.

Just something to keep in mind when you're paying bills. Don't get "DeJoy-ed".