LeavingLondon

Sorry, yup, I meant CA

notonuksoil

We have a "sort of" standing order type thing set up with chase to pay our rent to our private landlord, took a while to work out how to do it but it can be done.

We also pay all bills by electronic transfer, utilities, cable/TV, cell phones and car payments, we seem to be the exception among our US friends who write checks (cheques) for everything and they all wait for paper bills to arrive in the mail. Don't think we get any its all done online.

As we have chase credit cards we also pay them off online by transferring funds from the checking account.

The only time I really have to write a check is for school when the kids sign up for clubs or they have a school trip.

Jerseygirl

Much better to pay bills with your credit card...it's easier to stop payment when you no longer want the service. Unlike the UK it is not the bank that ceases payment...it's the supplier. If the supplier is slow cancelling...then payments are still taken out of your bank account.

Michael

Direct debt from your account can be done in the US but you have to authorize the company to do it (you must sign a paper authorizing them to withdraw the money). Usually this is done for utilities, HOA fees, etc. Electronic "Bill Pay" can be done from your account to most businesses without much of an effort and some businesses notify the bank of the monthly bill and you can indicate that you want that bill paid every month (similar to direct debt but no paperwork required since you are authorizing the bank to do it). The reason that both ways are done is that some companies (usually small companies such as your landlord) do not have a system in place to notify the bank monthly of the charge but if you physically sign a piece of paper, you authorize the company to direct debit any amount.

A lot of the procedures revolve around liability of the bank if something goes wrong. Capital One 360 is able to do Person to Person electronic transfers since you have to know the last four digits of their account number to do an electronic transfer and the person receiving the money will get an email asking for his account information before the transfer will be started. This limits Capital One 360's liability since you don't know the person's account number. Other banks usually issue a paper check and snail mail it when you transfer person to person.

The slowness of the US banking system is primarily because until the 1990s, the US banking system was state by state (banks could only do business in one state prior to the 1990s). The current system still isn't fast enough to tie all the banks and clearing house together to perform all the daily transactions immediately so if you want immediate transfers, you need to do a wire transfer at a significant cost. I think the system is similar to transferring between EU countries but faster since there is only one clearing house for all of the US.

I don't write any paper checks so it is useable electronically.

Some school districts may possibly have something similar to Parent Pay service but I don't know.

notonuksoil

We've had this set up now since 2007 without any problems (touch wood!) have moved house twice in that time and changed car and phone providers too. We can stop/change payments online fairly easily. I guess everyone finds what works best for them but agree my British Airways credit card is my best friend

MarylandNed

One thing to bear in mind is that some banks put a hold on deposits when the account is less than 30 days old.

Also sometimes only the first $100 of certain types of deposit is available to you the next day and then you may have to wait days for the rest to be available.

Traveller's checks might actually be better. You wouldn't have to wait for anything to clear. Your account could be credited immediately. They can be replaced easily if lost or stolen. They are more like cash and can immediately be swapped for cash. You can even use them as checks to pay bills.

Michael

In my opinion, electronic transfer is the best. Traveler's checks are a pain and a cashier's check can be a forgery and one issued from Europe will likely have a long hold but an electronic transfer through someone like XE.COM is fairly inexpensive, quick, and is available as soon as the money is in your account.

LeavingLondon

I pay as much as I can in the UK with my BA Amex card (my hubby and I have separate accounts that way we get 2 companion vouchers each year) so as everyone accepts AMEX in the States am hoping the miles will come rolling in! I guess it makes sense to have separate accounts in the Us too for that same reason.

Michael

Not everyone accepts AMEX in the US. Almost all that accept credit cards accept VISA and MasterCard with many also accepting Discover but AMEX is the forth most likely accepted card.

LeavingLondon

Darn it! I want my miles!

Michael

In the US, AMEX charges the merchant more than Discover and Discover charges more than VISA and MasterCard.

notonuksoil

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/ba/...sea/na/BAChase

When we got ours it was a 100,000 miles sign up bonus, have seen it a few times but not recently. You can usually negotiate the annual fee too. We didn't pay it the first few years.

Bob

Definitely notice a lot of smaller, indie type stores not accepting it and especially in quieter towns/tourist areas.

Pulaski

I have no doubt that is true, but back when my card of choice was an Amex card, it was rarely not accepted - ALL major retailers and restaurants accepted it.

MarylandNed

Yes, I didn't mean traveller's checks instead of electronic transfer. Normally when someone moves they take money in various forms. I meant traveller's checks instead of taking cash or a cashier's check (which was the suggestion I was responding to). If someone needs immediate access to cash then an electronic transfer isn't going to help if the receiving bank account hasn't been set up yet.