I haven't seen this link posted but Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is pushing its Active Assets Bill Payment and Presentment, provided by Checkfree.
dwdean.com
A pretty nice integration of Checkfree's mybills site w/ an external Dean Witter frames interface.
Monthly Service Fees
Basic Service Fee: $6.50 for 25 transactions
Additional Transaction Fee: $0.25 each transaction over the 25th transaction
Overview of the Service
Highlights
The Service provides an easy to use and secure way of receiving and paying your bills over the Internet. It makes your life easier by automating the
tedious and repetitive task of paying bills by hand. Also, as the merchants you are paying become capable of delivering E-Bills through the Service,
you will be able to start receiving those bills online. Once you begin using the Service, you will find that it is unique in the following ways:
Convenient - You can pay anyone, anytime, anywhere in the U.S., from your mortgage company to your newspaper carrier.
Timely - You can schedule payments up to one year in advance, so you don't have to remember when to "mail" them. Plus, you can schedule
recurring payments (such as a car loan, rent or mortgage payment, and insurance premiums) to be paid automatically and continuously on
the schedule you specify.
Secure - A secure connection is established between your browser and the Processing Center. Everything that is transmitted is encrypted
using 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology.
Cost-effective - The Service reduces paper use and saves check printing costs, stamp and envelope expenses, and most of all, your time!
Environmentally conscious - Saves paper through the use of electronic funds transfer (EFT) and recycled paper.
Supported - The Service is fully supported. If you need assistance, our Customer Care experts are ready to assist you.
Making Payments
No matter whom you want to pay - the local florist, a national department store, or your mortgage company - the Service can make all of your
payments for you. While many of your payments will be made electronically, some payees, and of course individuals, cannot receive electronic
payments. The Service will choose one of three payment methods to process your payments. Which method we use will depend upon many
variables; however, all transactions processed through the Service will be itemized on your monthly bank statement or financial statement.
All-Electronic Payment
An electronic transfer from your bank account to the payee account is made on the payment date you specify.
Electronic-to-Check Payment
A check is drawn on the Processing Center's bank account and mailed to the payee several days prior to the payment date you specify. This
ensures payment will be received by the payment date. The payee handles the payment as a regular paper check. Funds are transferred
electronically from your bank account to the Processing Center's account on the payment date you specify.
Laser-printed Check
A check is drawn on your bank account and created on a state-of-the-art specialized laser printer. This check is machine readable, just like checks
you would write yourself. Payees receiving laser checks deposit them just like ordinary checks. If you receive your canceled checks with your
monthly statement, you'll receive these checks too
Receiving E-Bills
To receive E-Bills from a particular merchant, two things must happen. First, that merchant must be able to support distributing E-Bills through the
Service. E-Bill capable merchants are indicated by an asterisk, "*", in the pre-defined payee list. Second, you must add the merchant as a payee
and specify that you want E-Bills to be sent. Then, the Service will automatically begin sending you E-Bills. Every time you log on to the Service,
there will be a notification of the number of new E-Bills. New E-Bills will first be categorized as "unpaid". Once you view the E-Bill, you can either
pay it through the Service, mark it as "paid", if you've paid it by some other means, or leave it as "unpaid". Also, you can delete it; but you might
want to save it to your local system beforehand. To save the E-Bill to your hard disk, use your browser's "Save As" feature. How to access this
feature will depend on what browser you are using. Please refer to your browser's help for exact directions.
If you want to have the Service automatically make payments for E-Bills under a certain dollar amount, you may want to use the E-Bill Auto-Pay
feature. When you enable E-Bills for a particular merchant, you also have the option of enabling the Auto-Pay feature. If an E-Bill is delivered to you
from that merchant which is equal to or less than the dollar amount you specify, the Service will automatically schedule a payment for it on the due
date of the bill. If the amount is greater, the Service will just deliver it.
The Service makes payments for E-Bills in the same manner as it does for all other payments.
Guidelines
The Service will eliminate the time-consuming chore of writing and mailing checks, but you will still need to provide enough lead time so your
payments get to the payee on the date you specify. The Processing Center will make many of your payments by creating a paper check and mailing
it through the U.S. Postal Service. Therefore, the Bill Payment Service requires you to schedule your payment instructions at least four (4) business
days in advance of the desired payment date.
When you schedule a payment to a payee for the first time, we suggest you set the payment date at least five (5) days in advance of the due date.
You can always adjust this lead-time as you observe how the payee posts your payment. And, of course, you should never use the late date on an
invoice as your payment date.
You do not need to contact your payees or your financial institution when you begin using the Service to make payments. The information provided
during enrollment and the payee account numbers you specify when adding your payees are sufficient for payments to be made.
With the Service, you can . . .
Make payments through the Internet.
Schedule payments in advance.
Set up recurring payments to be paid continually and automatically at the frequency you specify.
But, you can't . . .
Make your payments at the last minute.
Make payments without providing accurate and complete payee information (the payee's telephone number is especially important).
Make tax or court-ordered payments.
Insufficient Funds
Despite the many advantages the Service offers, you still need sufficient money in your account to cover the payments you schedule. If you
"bounce" a payment processed through the Service, you incur the same overdraft penalties as you would with a paper check as well as overdraft
penalties assessed by the Service.
If You Forget Your User Name, Password or Personal Security Code
Three codes are used by the Processing Center to identify your account with the Service: Password, Service Account Number, and User Name. In
addition, you must enter your Personal Security Code (PSC) each time you send an instruction to the Processing Center.
You DO NOT need to enter your Service Account Number while using the Service. The Processing Center automatically recognizes your Service
Account Number each time you connect. However, your User Name and Password are required in order to log on.
If you forget your User Name, Password, and/or your Personal Security Code (PSC), contact Customer Care. We will send you a letter via U.S. Mail
identifying the code(s) you specified when you registered.
Fees and Collections
Any applicable Service fees will appear as a separate line item on your monthly statement for the account you are using to make payments.
Inactive Status
If for some reason (for example, vacation, broken PC) you are unable to use the Service for a period of time, you can request to have your Service
Account placed in an inactive status. Any applicable maintenance fee for keeping your account in this status will be charged, however, for each
month the Service Account remains inactive.
During inactive status, the Processing Center will not process any payments and you will be unable to log into your Service Account. We
recommend you cancel all future payments, especially recurring payments, or they will be processed upon re-activation of your account. You must
call or write Customer Care to re-activate your account.
Getting Help
If you experience problems with the Service, you can contact the Processing Center to receive assistance. First, though, you may want to review the
tips for using the service. Also, if you are experiencing an Internet connectivity problem, you should first contact your Internet Service Provider.
Error Messages
Error messages may display during your use of the Service. The error message explains the error and/or what to do. If you receive an error
message, write it down exactly as it appears (or print the screen) in the event you need to contact Technical Support.
Browser Requirements
To use this Service, you will need to access the Internet via an SSL-compatible Web browser such as Netscape Navigator® version 3.0 (or higher) or
Microsoft Internet Explorer® version 3.0 (or higher). You must install the 128-bit SSL version, also known as the U.S or domestic version.
Customer Care
Customer Care includes all activities involved in assuring the proper processing of your payments. Items included in Customer Care are:
Confirmation of payment remittance to a particular payee.
Questions about a particular E-Bill.
Responses to most inquiries regarding the Service fee charges, account setup and system/ application usage procedures not covered in
documentation.
Verification of information received regarding a particular payment.
Contact Customer Care with questions about the Service, a particular payment, a particular E-Bill, and general payment questions.
Technical Support
Technical Support should be contacted with questions about the application. To help us provide the best and most expedient service, please obtain
the following information in advance:
Exact error message(s) received, if any.
Details of what you were doing when the problem occurred.
Operating system and version.
Time of day connection problem occurred.
The Web browser you are using.
How to Contact Us
If you need to contact either Customer Care or Technical Support, you can do so in several ways. For the most expedient response, we recommend
you send a message to Customer Care through the Service. Questions related to Technical Support can be sent as well. When you next log on to
the service, you will be notified of new messages from Customer Care. Alternatively, you can reach us by phone, fax, or U.S. Mail. To ensure prompt
and efficient service, please provide your name and Service Account Number on all correspondence via fax or U.S. Mail. If you are contacting us by
phone, please have your Service Account Number (typically your Social Security Number) ready.
Sam (FWIW) |
