True Blue® Bill Payment moved from a Process Date system to a Pay Date System for online bill payments. With the Pay Date System, your bills will be paid on the date you select. The funds will be sent to your billers prior to the date you selected, but the funds will remain in your account until the pay date. This allows you to keep your money in your account until the funds need to be sent for payment. This will give you greater control, because you can still decide the date that works best for you, and knowing your bills are being paid on time provides that extra peace of mind. You will not have to guess how far in advance to pay your bills; the system will allow enough time automatically.
I pay my bills online, what does this mean for me?
If you paid your bills online with Capitol Federal®, you were selecting the date you would have liked the payment process to begin. The payment was then sent, with funds being withdrawn from your account. Your billers were then paid, up to 5 days later.
Now, Capitol Federal® has moved the bill payment process to a Pay Date System. You will select the bills "pay date", and the biller will be paid on that day. Also, funds will be deducted from your account on that same date.
Besides a new processing system, paying your bills continues as normal. You still may pay anyone, like normal. For a list of new features and services included in the upgrade, visit the What’s New page.
My money comes out of my account the date I select for each bill payment currently. How is that going to change?
Instead of the money coming out of your account at the beginning of a bill payment process, the money will now leave your account on the pay date you select. This means your funds remain in your account until the biller receives payment.
Please note, not all billers are able to accept electronic payments from Capitol Federal. If a paper check must be sent to your biller (example: local lawn service), the funds will not be deducted from your account until that check has been cashed by the biller. In this case, it is important to balance your account and keep track of your processing payments to avoid negative balance fees.
When you make any bill payment, consider the funds gone and deduct them from your balance.
How will I be able to track my payments to avoid a NSF fee because I forgot about a payment and my account went into a negative balance?
One tip to track your payment is to set an Alert with each biller to email you when the payment has been sent. When you set your payment, consider the funds gone, even though you benefit from keeping your funds in your account longer. Review your Account History and reconcile your payments.
Also, to protect your account from NSF fees, consider an Overdraft Protection Plan, utilizing a companion savings, checking, money market or Execuline account. This plan requires registration. You may call 1.888.8CAPFED (1.888.822.7333), or visit with branch staff, for registration information.
For more FAQs, visit our FAQ page.
The following examples illustrate the new process:
- You’d like to use True Blue® Bill Payment to pay your utility bill for $150.00, which is due on Friday, July 27. Each time you set up a payment, True Blue® Bill Payment will calculate the earliest available payment date you may use. Since some payments may require up to four (4) days for the biller to receive the payment, you will need to log into True Blue® Bill Payment prior to Monday, July 23, to set up your payment. You will set up your payment for $150.00, entering your utility company as the biller and July 27 as the scheduled payment date. Once submitted, your payment will be in the "entered" status, during which time you may still change or cancel your payment. Once your payment begins processing (9:00 p.m. CST for all payments except Overnight Payments), you cannot change or cancel the payment. If your payment is made electronically, your account will be debited for the $150.00 payment on July 27. If your payment is made by draft, a paper check will be generated and mailed to the biller, arriving on or before your pay date. Your account will be debited for the $150.00 payment when your utility company presents the check for payment.
- You receive a cable bill for $100.00 that is due on Saturday, July 28. Since the due date falls on a day which is not a Business Day, your scheduled payment date must be at least one (1) Business Day before the due date on your bill to insure your payment is not late. You will enter your cable company as the biller and scheduled payment date as Friday, July 27 in this case. If your payment is made electronically, your account will be debited for the $100.00 payment on July 27. If your payment is made by draft, a paper check will be generated and mailed to the biller, arriving on or before your pay date. Your account will be debited for the $100.00 payment when your cable company presents the check for payment.
- You may elect to pay a bill prior to the date it is due. If you’d like to pay the $100 cable bill from the previous example on Friday, July 20, you would simply log into True Blue® Bill Payment prior to Monday, July 16 to set up your payment. Enter July 20 as the scheduled payment date and submit your payment for processing. Your account will be debited for the $100.00 on July 20 if the payment is made electronically. If the payment is made by draft, your account will be debited for the $100.00 payment when your cable company presents the check for payment.
Since funds for bill payments will not be debited from your account until your scheduled payment date (for electronic payments), or until the biller presents the check for payment (for paper check payments), you will need to keep the amounts of scheduled payments in mind when calculating your available balance.
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