Having a bank account solely for paying bills can be a major source of stress relief, especially f you have constant access to the bank account. HSBC not only provides a safe, secure location for a bank account, but they also have a verified way to easily use that bank account to pay your bills.
Accounts that Support HSBC Bill Paying
HSBC has several types of accounts which may or may not support the bill payment feature. In order to make sure that the account type you are interested in allows automatic bill payment, HSBC has a very convenient web page where you can compare and contrast the features of the different types of accounts. If the account holder has more than one account, they can also specify which account they wish to use while setting up this payment, so that some bills draw from a checking account and some bills draw from a savings account, depending on the size and frequency of the bill.
HSBC Types of Bills
There are countless types of bills that can be automatically paid using the Bill Pay feature of HSBC accounts. These bills include mortgage payments, insurance premiums, utility companies, credit card bills, and even individuals, if you are paying someone a monthly recurring allotment. The credit cards are not limited to those issued by banks- store credit cards can also be paid by using the Bill Pay function.
Setting the Date and Amount
One of the most important parts of setting up automatic bill payments is arranging the date and amount of the bill to be paid. For fixed-rate things such as insurance or allowance payments, a regular date each month with the same amount will be sufficient. For credit cards and utilities, allowing the company to charge the total amount of the bill to the chosen account on a specific day will allow the easiest payments to occur. You can also choose to pay the credit card company a monthly flat-rate amount above the minimum payment amount. For bills such as mortgages, which have a minimum monthly payment but no maximum, you can choose any payment amount above the minimum. All of these different payments can have a specific date they are paid, in order to stagger the expenses throughout the month. All of these payments can be stopped at any time by accessing the relevant payment page and information, and a new bill can be added with only slightly more difficulty.
Potential Liability
If, for some reason, a payment is made without authorization, HSBC offers you complete protection from the withdrawal and will work with you to reclaim your money. This is especially helpful if you never set up the bill to be paid, if you were the victim of identity theft, or if someone hacked your account and added a bill that was not yours.
Automated payments can take a great deal of the stress out of life, and by grouping all of your payments into a handful of accounts keeping track of which bills are paid and which ones still need to be paid becomes drastically easier.
