Clearing your credit card dues is a critical aspect of credit card management. Your credit card statement indicates the payment due and the due date of payment. One should make it a point to pay the entire bill before the due date to continue availing the benefit of the interest-free grace period. If you make a late payment or a part payment, it results in the payment of interest @ APR.
With improving technology, there are multiple ways to pay your credit card bills online. We shall look at five different methods for credit card bill payment online.
Auto debit facility
Paying your credit card bill amounts on time is crucial. Missing a payment can become an expensive affair. It also affects your credit rating. Hence, the best way to ensure that you pay on time is to sign up with your bank for an auto debit facility. It is possible if your bank and the credit card issuing bank are the same.
The bank is responsible for sending you timely alerts about the pending payment. It enables you to ensure that you have sufficient balance in your account on the due date. However, there is a disadvantage to this method of payment. If you do not maintain the necessary balance in your account on the due date, the bank does not make the payment. Under such circumstances, you should arrange for alternate methods of payment. Let us look at some of the alternatives available to you.
Internet banking facility
Paying your credit card bill using the internet banking facility is a viable alternative to the auto debit facility. This facility is also useful when the card-issuing bank and your bank are the same. Log in to your bank account using the internet banking facility and select the card account. Transferring the balance from your account should not be an issue at all. Banks do not charge any fees for internal transfers. However, you should note that some banks stipulate daily limits for transferring between accounts within the bank. It is better to split up your payments under such circumstances.
This method of payment is a popular one. You are solely responsible for making the payment on the due date. The advantage of the internet banking mode and auto debit mode is that the payment is instantaneous. Hence, you can wait until the due date to pay the bill and avail the maximum benefit of the interest-free period.
NEFT/RTGS Online Funds Transfer facility
You might have an account in a bank different from the one that has issued the credit card. Under such circumstances, you cannot initiate an internal transfer to pay the credit card bill. Similarly, the facility of auto debit is also not available. You cannot set up a standing instruction as well because the payment can vary from one month to another.
The best mode of payment is the NEFT/RTGS fund transfer route. Note that the RTGS fund transfer route is available for payments of Rs 2 lakhs and more. You can transfer funds through NEFT/RTGS in two ways. One mode is to transfer funds to your savings account in the card-issuing bank and to use the internet-banking mode to pay your bill as described above. The other method is to credit your card account directly. Under both circumstances, you have to register the beneficiary details with your bank. Some banks maintain centralized accounts for dealing with credit cards. Thus, the IFSC number can be different for credit card accounts. Such NEFT transfers can take between 30 minutes to 24 hours depending on your bank and the timing of your transfer.
Payment through Bill Desk
Paying your credit card bills through Bill Desk is another option available to you. This method does not require you to have an internet banking facility. You can use your debit card to pay your credit card bills of any bank. Bill Desk is an online payment platform that allows you the convenience of paying credit card bills.
Note that the payment can take a couple of days to reach your bank account. Hence, you should ensure to pay the amount in advance. Otherwise, you might end up making a late payment. It can cost you heavily by way of late payment fees and interest in the subsequent month.
Payment through mobile e-wallets and other payment systems
Today, you do not need a computer or a laptop to access the internet. Your smartphones can do the job for you. You have mobile e-wallets that allow you to pay credit card bills online. It is the most convenient way of making bill payments today. The advantage of using mobile e-wallets and other payment systems is that some of the mobile e-wallets offer cashback facility on using their services. Secondly, you can also set up a bill reminder service or even an auto debit facility with these mobile e-wallets. In this way, you do not miss a payment because you receive timely alerts much in advance. The disadvantage of using mobile e-wallets is that you expose your financial details to third parties. These e-wallets maintain security protocols, but the risk of leakage of crucial data is omnipresent.
Final words
We have seen five simple ways of making credit card bill payments online. There are other methods such as calling the customer care number and initiating the bill payment. You can also use your ATM to pay your credit card bills offline. Other offline methods include paying the bill in person at the concerned bank or by issuing a cheque and dropping it into the respective drop box. Such payments can take three to five days to take effect. The online methods discussed above are the quickest ways to pay your credit card bills.
