Choosing How to Pay Bills

Cash

• Easy to use and understand
• There are often no fees, unlike getting a money order or a prepaid card

• Requires bills be paid in person
• Difficult to prove payment unless you have a receipt
• May be stolen

Check

• Convenient once checking account is set up
• Can be mailed
• Easy to prove payment if there's a dispute
• Funds in the checking account are secure

• Likely requires a checking account, which may not be possible if you have a negative banking history
• If you don't have enough money in your account to cover your check, you may be charged nonsufficient fund or overdraft fees
• Can get lost in the mail

Credit card

• Convenient and saves time
• Can make one-time payments or set up recurring payments, which reduce the chance of paying a bill late
• Easy to prove payment if there's a dispute

• If there isn't enough money in the account when the automatic debit happens, you may have to pay additional fees
• If you have to replace the card, you'll have to remember to update the information with the billers being aid with automatic debit

Money order

• Easy to understand
• Can be mailed
• Can be more secure than a check in some cases, as no personal banking information is on the money order

• May be inconvenient because you have to buy the money order
• Cost per money order
• May be hard to prove payment unless you have the money order receipt and receive the receipt for payment
• Hard to recover if lost

Online or mobile bill payment

• Convenient and saves time
• Can be set up with a bank, credit union or prepaid card account, or through the biller's website
• Can make one-time payments or set up recurring payments, which may reduce the chance of paying a bill late
• If set up through your bank, credit union or prepaid card account, you may be able to receive warnings or alerts if your account balance goes below a certain amount
• You can often use a mobile app for bill payment

• Takes time to set up and learn
• Possible risks of overdraft and fees or a rejected payment if there isn't enough money in the account when the payment occurs
• Data may be collected and shared in ways you don’t want
• Mobile device can be lost or stolen, allowing potential access to your financial information
• Financial information may be vulnerable to theft if mobile app is used on public Wi-Fi
• Some checking account and prepaid card providers don't let you set up recurring bill payments through their websites, but you can likely still do so through the biller's website

Prepaid card

• Convenient
• Can pay bills over the phone, online or through a mobile app
• Easier to prove payment if there's a dispute

• Possible fees for using the card to pay a bill, which would be listed in the card agreement