An automatic bill payment is a money transfer schedule on a predetermined date to pay a recurring bill such as a homeowner association fee. These payments can be arranged by the owner of a checking account held at a commercial bank or credit union. The date of transfer can be selected by the account holder in order to avoid the possibility of late charges. While automatic bill payment arrangements are convenient, the account holder must make certain to inform the financial institution if the payment amount changes, which is often once each year.

The advantage of automatic bill payment, as opposed to ACH (Automatic Clearing House) payment arrangements, is that the party collecting the funds is never given authority to access the account holder's bank or savings account. Thus, automatic bill payment is more secure than ACH arrangements.

Our firm highly recommends that members of homeowner associations contact their commercial bank or credit union and make paymenf arrangements for recurring monthly HOA assessments.

Posting of Assessments - Date Received vs. Date of Deposit