A Simple Guide to Using Fidelity Bill Pay

Paying bills can be a tedious task. Writing checks, buying stamps, remembering due dates – it takes time and effort each month. That’s why online bill pay services like Fidelity Bill Pay exist to make the process quick and easy.

Fidelity Bill Pay allows you to securely pay bills online from your Fidelity Cash Management Account or Fidelity brokerage account. You can schedule one-time or recurring payments to thousands of billers nationwide. Read on to learn how Fidelity Bill Pay works so you can simplify bill management.

Getting Started

Using Fidelity Bill Pay is free for Fidelity customers. To get started, first make sure you have one of the following accounts

• Fidelity Cash Management Account

• Non-retirement Fidelity brokerage account

You can add Bill Pay during account opening or later through your account settings. On Fidelity.com, go to Your Profile > Services > Bill Pay.

On the mobile app, tap the Bill Pay icon to activate the service or manage payees and payments.

Adding Payees

The first step is adding the companies and individuals you want to pay. Fidelity Bill Pay maintains a database of thousands of billers by name, account number, or mailing address.

To add a payee:

• Search for the company name

• Choose the correct biller from the results

• Enter your account number

For individuals like your landlord, babysitter, or friends you owe money, you can add them as a payee using their name and mailing address.

Scheduling Payments

Once your payees are set up, it’s simple to schedule one-time or recurring payments.

One-Time Payments

For single payments, choose the payee, enter the payment amount and send-on date. Payments can be scheduled up to 365 days in advance.

Recurring Payments

You may want to automate recurring bills like your mortgage, car loan, or gym membership. When setting up a recurring payment:

• Select frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually)

• Choose the start and end date

• Enter payment amount

Recurring payments continue automatically until your specified end date or when you cancel them.

Payment Methods

Fidelity Bill Pay draws money directly from your Fidelity account to pay your bills. You can select which account funds are withdrawn from for each payment.

For the Fidelity Cash Management Account, payments are deducted from your core account balance or money market mutual fund balance.

With a Fidelity brokerage account, payments pull from your core position. If you don’t have enough cash, Fidelity will automatically sell securities to cover the payment amount according to your account preferences.

No need to worry about checks, stamps, or hitting submit – Fidelity handles everything behind the scenes to deliver your payments.

Payment Delivery

How long it takes the payee to receive payment depends on the delivery method:

• Electronic Payments – Funds are sent to the payee electronically, typically within 1-3 business days. Many large billers like utilities, cable, insurance accept electronic payments.

• Check Payments – Fidelity mails a physical check to the payee. Allow 5-7 business days for check payments to arrive, excluding mailing time. Individual payees and some smaller companies require check payments.

You can see the anticipated delivery date when scheduling each payment. Fidelity also provides remittance information with the payment so payees can properly apply it to your account.

Tracking Payments

The Bill Pay dashboard lets you view scheduled payments and payment history. You can check status, confirm when a payment is sent, and see if it’s been cashed by the payee.

Within the Fidelity mobile app, you can manage bills and track payments on the go. Enable push notifications to receive alerts when a scheduled payment is processed or if a payee cashes the check.

Managing Payments

Need to make a change to an upcoming payment? You can easily edit or cancel payments until the send date.

To edit a scheduled payment:

• Change payee, amount, or date

• Adjust recurrence for automatic payments

• Cancel the payment completely

For added security, payment edits or cancellations aren’t allowed once the payment is in progress on the send date.

Account Safety

Fidelity Bill Pay takes security seriously to keep your information and money protected. Payments are sent using bank-level encryption and authentication. Sensitive data is tokenized for transmission.

You must log into Fidelity.com or the mobile app using secure two-factor authentication to access Bill Pay. Account activity and payments are monitored 24/7 for potential fraud.

If suspicious activity is ever detected, payments are blocked until you validate them. Fidelity’s security team will contact you if verification is needed.

Budget-Friendly Features

In addition to bill management, Fidelity Bill Pay includes convenient budgeting features:

• Spending Report – See monthly spending organized by category like bills, food, entertainment, and more. Easily track where your money is going.

• Low Balance Alerts – Set up alerts to be notified if your Fidelity account balance drops below a threshold you define.

• Account Transfers – Move money between your Fidelity accounts to cover upcoming payments.

Customer Support

Help is available 24/7 if any questions come up while using Fidelity Bill Pay. Contact customer support by phone at 800-343-3548 or initiate a live chat on Fidelity.com.

The Bill Pay help center also provides FAQs, tutorials, and guidance for managing payments. Fidelity aims to make bill pay intuitive and hassle-free.

Simplify Payment Management

In today’s digital world, there’s no need to waste time writing checks and tracking due dates. Fidelity Bill Pay offers a streamlined bill payment experience.

With online and mobile access, robust security, and helpful support, Fidelity Bill Pay has all the features you need to take control of bill management. Spending less time on payments means more time focusing on what matters. See how easy bill pay can be by giving Fidelity Bill Pay a try today.