Commonly Asked Questions about e-bills
How do I get started?
This feature is in the "Bill Pay" section of Exchange OnLine. To begin using this feature, click on the Set up e-bill link for the payees for whom you would like to receive electronic bills.
Please note that not all payees are able to do e-bills. Only those payees with "Set up e-bill" in the drop-down are compatible with e-bills.
When you add a new payee that works with e-bills, Exchange OnLine inquires if you would like to receive e-bills from that payee during the set-up process.
How are bills retrieved from the payee?
Electronic bills are retrieved using two different methods:
1. Bill information retrieved from the Web site of the payee. (Indirect e-bills)
In order to retrieve bill information, users must enroll for online access at the Web site of the payee first (i.e. to receive an Alliant Energy e-bill, the user must be registered at Alliant Energy’s Web site).
2. Bill information is retrieved through a direct relationship we have with the payee. (Direct e-bills)
When a bill is set up for a payee via this method, customers are asked to provide information such as: last bill date, amount and billing cycle (the information varies by payee).
This information is used to validate your ownership of the account with the payee and to inform the payee that you have requested the e-bill service with us.
What is the cost for e-bills?
There are no additional fees for receiving e-bills online.
How do I know I have successfully set up an e-bill?
During the set-up process
- After the initial verification of your identity is complete, your Payee Details Screen will appear. A confirmation message will appear at the top of your screen that says: "Thank you for requesting to receive your bill from VENDOR NAME as an e-bill. If you don't receive your first e-bill in 1 to 2 billing cycles, please contact us."
- Your Payee drop-down screen will indicate "Setting up e-bill."
Upon Completion
The length of time for completion varies by the biller. Upon final set-up:
- Your payee will indicate "Awaiting e-bill" and have an "e-bill" icon next to.
What type of failures may I incur when setting up an e-bill?
Credential failure
If the username and password information you enter for the payee’s Web site is invalid, the system will display an error message. Try resubmitting the request.
Please note: after too many attempts, you may get locked out of the payee Web site depending upon how many validation attempts they make and how many attempts the biller allows at their site.
Site or network errors
Your username and password information may not be validated because of a temporary problem in communicating with the payee’s site. In this instance, you may choose to:
1. Cancel - None of the payee data is saved. Please retry adding that payee at a later time.
2. Continue - The Bill Payment system will store the payee login credentials and will attempt to validate the credentials later.
How can I tell if a bill is ready?
1. By default, payees are set to "Manual Payment" and an email is sent to your established "Alerts" email address in Exchange OnLine alerting you that a bill has been delivered to Exchange OnLine.
This email includes information on your bill including:
- Payee name and address
- Current balance
- Minimum payment
- Due date
You may change your e-bill notifications in the "More" Menu > "Customer Service" > "Alerts" > "Bill Payment Alerts."
2. As e-bills are delivered, a yellow attention indicator also informs you of its receipt on the top of the Bill Pay page and next to the payee that has an e-bill available. Clicking on the link next to the indicator on the top of the page opens a pull-out showing the e-bill that has arrived, the amount due and when it is due.
Historical, manual, automatic and recurring e-bills may be viewed by clicking "View payment history" in the Payee drop-down screen.
How easy is it to see my e-Bill?
When your e-bill arrives, you may view it by clicking "View eBill" after clicking the green "e" within the payee area.
You may view all of your e-bills by clicking on "View payment history" in the payee drop-down. Click on the particular bill to view an image, payment history and status.
Depending on how your biller provides the information, the bill may be in HTML or PDF format. Use the Acrobat toolbar provided or your browser menu to print or save the bill to your PC.
Why is my image not available?
If you are receiving the following message "An image of this bill is not available, but you can still make a payment" when trying to access a National Exchange Bank & Trust loan e-bill, please contact us by choosing Support > Contact Us within the "All" menu or call your local office so that we may change your loan billing settings to allow for your images to be available.
Why is there a red “Action Needed” alert on my “Bill Pay” page?
This link appears if there is maintenance that needs to be done on a payee’s record (for example, your password may have been changed on the payee Web site). You may also get this if there is a credential error when verifying your username and password with the payee’s site during set-up.
The links below the red alert enable you to edit the payee for the e-bill setup or retry set-up.
How are payments made?
It is easy to pay your bills from either the Bill Pay page or when viewing your e-bill.
When viewing your bill, just click "Pay bill".
You have three choices on how to schedule your e-bill payments:
- Manual: An email alert is sent to you when a bill arrives, allowing you to review the bill and issue a payment. This is the default way to pay your bills presented online.
- Auto Pay - In Response to an e-bill: You can setup your own rules for how to pay a bill when it is received. Automatic payments get made every time a bill is received, without requiring you to approve the payment each time. You can choose to pay the full amount on the bill, pay the minimum amount due or pay a fixed amount each month regardless of what amount is billed. In addition, you can choose to receive an email alert if the payment amount exceeds a specified amount.
- Auto Pay - At Regular Intervals: You can establish a schedule for paying your bills for a fixed amount and frequency regardless of receiving a bill. For example, a mortgage company may provide you with a coupon book instead of monthly bills. The recurring payment can be set up to pay the mortgage company each month.
Can I pay an e-bill automatically without the requirement to look at it?
An automatic payment may be set up to go out every time a bill is received, without requiring approval of the payment each time. In the Payee drop-down area, simply click "Set up auto-pay" and then choose "Set auto-pay in response to an e-bill."
You may choose to:
- pay the full amount billed,
- pay the minimum amount due on the bill, or
- pay a fixed amount each month regardless of what amount is billed.
Can I receive an e-bill if I already have a recurring bill payment in Exchange OnLine set up to pay my bill?
Yes. For bill payments set up to be recurring, your e-bill notification email will indicate:
- the date the payment will be sent
- from what account it will be sent
- how much will be paid
After an e-bill arrives, you may view the bill in the View bill history page.
How long are bills available in Exchange OnLine?
Indirect e-bill images will be maintained within the Bill Payment System for 18 months. Direct bill images are only available for as long as the biller maintains them on their Web site. You may save the PDF or HTML file to your computer for longer retention or rely upon the history stored in the Bill Payment system.
Does it matter if I am already receiving e-bills from my biller?
No. You may still conveniently receive them in Exchange OnLine where you can easily consolidate and pay all of your e-bills from a number of payees in one place.
What should I do if I already have auto payments set up at my biller’s Web site?
If you have an automatic PAYMENT set up at your biller’s site, you will receive an "Action Needed" error during set-up.
Please cancel that auto-payment at the biller’s site to create an e-bill in Exchange OnLine.
Please note that automatically paying a bill at a biller’s site is not the same as receiving e-bills from the biller. If you are already receiving e-bills from your vendor and want to receive them through Exchange OnLine, simply follow the standard Set-up e-bill process
Why am I still getting a paper bill from my payee?
Even though a payee is successfully set up for e-bills, the paper bill may still be sent to you. Some payees will turn off the paper bill when an e-bill is activated and some will not.
If you are receiving your National Exchange Bank & Trust loan bill via the US Mail and would prefer it to be only electronic, you can change your preference in Exchange OnLine.
- If you are already receiving other eStatements, simply go to the "All" Menu then choose Settings > Document Delivery within Exchange OnLine. Select "Online" for the Loan Account Statement you are currently receiving via the mail.
- If you are not currently receiving any eStatements from the bank, to the "All" Menu then choose Settings > Document Delivery within Exchange OnLine. You will be walked through the eStatement set-up process where you can select all or specific accounts to convert to eStatements.
- Once you have converted your statement to electronic, you will be able to view your bill in the Bill Pay screen after your next cycle.
If you receive both a paper bill and an electronic bill, please pay special attention to avoid making duplicate payments. Some payees may offer the option of turning off the paper bill as a preference on their Web site.
How do I cancel an e-bill?
Click "Cancel e-bill" for the payee in the Payee Pull-Out screen.
