Eliminate the pain of paying bills

By Peter Kamuri

Paying monthly bills can be a disquieting affair for many. Besides leaving your wallet leaner, the exercise can be both nerve-racking and time consuming.

And with so many bills to pay – water bills, electricity, telephone and other bills – the process can take inordinately long time.

But thanks to the advances in technology, you can now change all this. With just one click of a button, the whole process can become both easy and effortless.

"One advantage of automating your bills payment is that you will be able to save a lot of time that you can use on other money making ventures. Some times the queues can be too long and may easily eat into your valuable time," Winston Owiti, an IT specialist and a financial advisor working in a private firm in Nairobi, says.

He points out that many people spend hours standing in long queues, which is both tiring and disheartening. Moreover, most services providers do not provide seats for customers waiting for their turn when paying bills, which means that people end their days with swollen, aching feet, and a foul mood.

long-run

"Although initially it may appear to be expensive due to the charges you pay for the services, automating your bills payment is cost effective in the long run. The convenience that comes with it is unmatched as you can make money through the time saved," observes Owiti.

He also points out that most people pay a steep cost for paying settling their bills late.

"But by automating your bills payments, you can have control over your bills by paying the right amount and ensure it is paid on time."

"And when you use automated bills payments, you will also save money that you are likely to use on travel as you can conveniently pay from any location. Also, the money you use to buy cheque books and the time you use to write them can be significantly reduced," he adds.

So how can you automate your bill payments?

"There are several basic ways in which you can automate your bills payments. For many years, banks have been the preferred choice. You just need to authorise your bank to pay them on your behalf," he advises.

"What your bank will do is to automatically deduct the money out of your account each month, and send it to your services providers. However, you may need to advice on the average amount of money you pay monthly on your bills," he says.

wire money

He also points out that most banks these days have an online bill payments facility. This facility only requires you to identify your services providers, and instruct the bank to wire the money due to them directly into their accounts.

"You can do this at the comfort of your house," he adds.

You can also use the popular mobile money transfer systems in the country. Most mobile phone services providers have a system of paying bills at minimal fees.

"By using a pay bill number, you can pay most of your bills at any time of the day. The system is integrated in a way that the payments are updated almost instantaneously, and then you get a confirmation short text message," notes Owiti.

But while automated bills payment is convenient, it also has a flipside.

"If you are not careful, there is the risk of sending money to the wrong account or you may end up making double payments or enter incorrect amounts. Correcting such errors may take time, and sometimes money," warns Owiti.

However, by taking care in the way you carry out your transactions, automated payment of bills is likely to bring immense joy and convenience to you. And best of all, you will be able to manage your time better, and save on your money at the same time.