About Bill Payment

What can Bill Pay do for me?

Bill Pay shortens the amount of time you spend paying bills each month. Bill Pay allows you to schedule regular payments to those bills you pay each month such as utilities, mortgage payments, and credit cards. But remember to pay your First Citizens credit cards using the transfer capability. Bill Pay also gives you the flexibility to make one-time payments. Simply set up the Payee and then enter the payment amount and date.

What if I don't want to use Bill Pay?

Bill Pay is an optional service. If you are just now enrolling in netAccess, you will be automatically enrolled in Bill Pay for your first four months. If you don't make a payment during the introductory period the service will be canceled and you will not be charged. If you do not have Bill Pay and decide that would like to try the service, just call us at
1.888.FC DIRECT (1.888.323.4732) and we will be happy to set you up.

What if two people want to share a Bill Pay account?

When you enroll in netAccess, a checking account number is required. If it is a joint account, each account holder can use netAccess. When you enroll in Bill Payment, a checking account is required as the payment account. Joint account holders can share a single bill pay account.

How does it work?

Simply set up the payee and schedule the payment for the date you want the money to arrive. Payment processing begins four business days in advance of the due date, and the payment is locked. You cannot change your payment instructions once the processing has begun. The money will be debited from your account on the due date you set up.

Who can I pay?

You can make payments to almost any merchant or business within the United States as long as you provide us with a valid name, address, phone number and account number. Merchants rely on the account number to post the payment properly, so be careful with this piece of information.

The payment of taxes, court ordered payments, payments to transfer funds to another bank account, and payments to payees located outside the continental United States are prohibited. You will be solely responsible for any payments to prohibited payees if we refuse to make the payment, or the payment is delayed or improperly processed.

How do I set up people/businesses to pay?

After clicking the Bill Payment tab, click on Payee Setup. You need to fill in all of the requested information about your payee such as your account number with that payee, address, and contact telephone number. Pay special attention to the account number.

How do I know that payments will arrive on time?

Set up your payments for the date the money is to arrive at the payee. Processing starts before that date so that it will arrive on time. We will set up the debit to your account so that your account is debited on the day the money arrives at the payee.

How do I set up payments?

First of all, you must properly set up the payee as described above. When you click the Bill Payment tab, you will see Payment Activity listing of payments that are scheduled or that processed during the last 30 days. From here, click Make Payments to enter a payment. Fill in the form with your payment instructions and click Submit. We take care of the rest. It's just that easy!

What if I need to change a payment? Or cancel a payment?

These are both options on the Payment Activity list viewed when you select the Bill Payment Tab. If a payment is in process or has already occurred, there is no option to Change the payment.

If you would like to delete a payment, click cancel.

From which accounts can I pay my bills?

You can pay your bills from any First Citizens checking account listed on your Account Summary within netAccess. However, you must call netAccess customer service to have additional checking accounts enabled for bill payment.

When is my account debited for a bill payment?

Your account is debited on the day the payment is scheduled to arrive at your payee.

If I have a bill payment NSF, how do I get the payment rescheduled?

The system will retry the debit to your account one time, however you are responsible for having the money in your account on the days you have scheduled bill payments. You may be charged a fee for insufficient funds.

What if I have trouble with a bill payment?

If you think you have a bill payment problem, it may be related to the time it takes a merchant to actually post a payment to your account, rather than the time it takes a payment to arrive. You may wish to contact the merchant first to see if there were any delays in posting it to your account.

All payments sent through the Bill Pay system will include the account number you provided when you set up the payee. You may want to check to make sure the account number you provided is accurate.

If a payment has been outstanding for more than five business days, we can open a payment investigation at your request. We will work with the merchant to find where your payment is and why it took so long for the merchant to post the payment to your account. We will work with the merchant until your payment investigation is resolved and keep you updated through bank mail on the progress.

What determines whether a payment is made electronically or by check?

The bill payment system determines which payments are processed electronically and which are processed as a check. Each day the bill payment system gathers the payments to be sent that morning and determines whether the payee will accept electronic payments. If an electronic payment method is not accepted, a check is cut and mailed to the address you provided.

Is it possible to stop a bill payment after it has been sent to the merchant?

It is possible to stop an netAccess bill payment if the payment was a check. The stop payment fee is $30. You will have a credit back into your account for the amount of the payment within three to five business days.

Why would a bill payment be returned?

Merchants will return a bill payment for an invalid address or account number. The post office will also return a bill payment because of an invalid address.

What can I do if my payee information is correct and my payment was returned?

You will need to fax us a current copy of your bill, showing the merchant address and your account number with the merchant. Fax this bill to the Online Banking department at 919-716-7436. You will need to include your name, social security number, and Customer ID. If the payment information matches the information on your bill, we will refund the return payment fee.

How will I know that payments have been made?

Once a payment has been made, it will be clearly itemized on your monthly bank statement. Keep in mind that we only make the payments you authorize. You are in control of your account at all times.