Did you know that the average American household pays approximately 200 bills a year?  If sent by snail mail, at 33 cents apiece, it will cost about $66 a year just to mail your bills.  Adding the cost of printing checks and the occasional late fee, the privilege of paying bills could top $100 annually.

The Payments Authority, a Michigan-based organization that advocates the use of electronic payment, is joining hands with 34 companies statewide to promote February as Automatic Bill Payment Month.  Automatic bill payment works this way:  the consumer authorizes companies that they do routine business with to withdraw such recurring payments as phone, gas and cable bills electronically from their checking or savings account.  The consumer does not have to worry about bills getting lost or stolen, and is assured that the payment will arrive in a timely manner.

To sign up for automatic bill payment, the consumer simply completes an enrollment form, which can be found in their monthly statements or at financial institutions.  They will still receive a statement at least 10 days in advance, notifying them of the amount due and the date the payment will be withdrawn.  The enrollment form allows consumers to sign up with several companies at one time.

Automatic bill payment is an especially secure method of payment, because it is protected by encryption, message authentication codes and other security measures.  A paper check, on the other hand, may be handled by as many as 10 people from the time it is written until the funds are withdrawn from the account, and contains an astonishing amount of information about the consumer.

The Payment Authority is a non-profit association of more than 500 financial institutions throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.  For more information on automatic bill payment, or to receive an enrollment form, visit their Web site at www.thepaymentauthority.org , or call them on 248-879-2222.