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Paying Bills over the Telephone
How long does pay by phone take the money out of my account?
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 By the question, we assume you mean how long does it take to actually remove the funds from your account. The answer is, it depends. The bank may have different processing routines where the computer system removes the funds immediately, or during a processing cycle the next business day. While we wouldn't expect to see transfers take more than one business day, it would be possible.
The bottom line is that you shouldn't double spend those funds and if it takes more than one day, call your bank because you want to ensure your bill is paid on time. In many cases, bill pay plans ask that you set the payment date several days or a week prior to the due date.
Pay by phone can also refer to a service provided by some companies like public utilities and credit card companies that permits you to call when you owe the company a balance, and have the company draw from your checking account to pay your bill with them. In these cases, it's usually too late for you to write a check on your account and drop it in the mail before the due date. The pay by phone service gets your payment credited by the due date, without any mail delays.
In those cases, you may be able to set a specific date for the payment. If you're up against a payment deadline, however, you won't have that luxury. Once the payment is made to the utility or credit card company, it may take only one or two days for the charge to hit your checking account, often in the form of a paper check.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 1/31/07
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