Bill Pay FAQs

Once signed in to personal online banking, you may register for ESL Bill Pay by either clicking Bill Pay or you may mouse over Bill Pay and click Pay a Bill.

To gain access to Business Online Banking and Business Bill Pay, complete and sign the Business Online Banking Request Agreement. Drop off the signed agreement at any ESL branch or mail to:

ESL Federal Credit Union
Payment Operations Department
P.O. Box 92827
Rochester, NY 14692

Once we receive your signed agreement, we'll help you quickly complete the one-time registration process.

To edit information for an existing payee:

1. Sign in to online banking.
2. Click Bill Pay.
3. Locate the payee in your My Bills & People I Pay list. 
4. Click Options.  
5. Click Account Information.
6. You may be able to edit some or all of the following: 
   • Account Number 
   • Category 
   • Nickname 
   • Address (if paid electronically, this field cannot be edited) 
   • Phone Number

If you do not get the option to change the address, but still need to update it, delete or hide the payee and set it up again. 

ESL Bill Pay is a FREE service that is available for all ESL members with an ESL Checking account. Standard three to five business day delivery is free. A fee may apply for expedited payments. View our Online and Mobile Banking Access Fee schedule.

For ESL Business accounts, fees may apply to certain checking accounts.

If eBills are available for one of your existing payees, Get eBill will display to the left of the payee name.

If eBills are available for a new payee, a screen displays from which you can set up eBills while you are adding the payee.

1. Locate the Payee in your Payee List.
2. Click Options.
3. Click Stop receiving electronic bill.
4. Click Yes, stop my eBill.

To file a Bill Pay ebill please: 

1. Click File next to the View Bill link of your Payee. 
2. This will move the eBill into your bill history. A new message Waiting for bill... should appear.

To clear the Action Required warning for a payee please:

• Click Correct the issue now then either
• Enter the requested eBill information and click Update eBill information.
• OR
• Click Cancel eBill enrollment.

If eBills are available for one of your existing payees, Get eBill will display to the left of the payee name. Click the link, select your billing cycle, and click Get your eBill delivered here. You can also schedule due date reminders and automatic payments here.

If eBills are available for a new payee, a screen displays from which you can set up eBills while you are adding the payee.

To view a filed Bill Pay eBill:

1. On the Bill Pay screen in Online Banking, click or tap the View payment history link in the My Payments section.
2. Click or tap Switch to: History Bills.
3. You can change the date range, perform a filtered search, or click on any column header to sort your eBills.

Or for a specific payee:

1. Click or tap Options below the payee.
2. Click or tap Your Bill (eBill).
3. Click or tap View eBill history.

Bill Pay eBills are filed automatically for 24 months once they are paid.

Click the payment field to activate drop down and view:

• Mindue (Minimum Due) 
• Balance
• Date and amount of last payment sent

Or, click View bill to locate this information in the eBill.

An FCC regulation requires phone companies to do more to verify authenticity of user[s] before showing phone usage records. 

Because of this, phone company eBills will present a login page to authenticate that it is the customer trying to view his or her bill. ESL is not able to present the bill itself.

Please note, you may login to your phone company's website via the login screen ESL presents to view your bill, which is provided as the bill in the bill center.
 

Images of cleared Bill Pay checks are available online for three months. To view those checks:

1. In Online Banking, click or tap View Payment History on the right side of the Bill Pay screen.
2. Select the dates you need from the Change drop down.

For copies of Bill Pay checks that cleared more than three months ago, please contact an ESL Representative.

Please contact an ESL Representative.

1. Click View payment history in the My Payments section. 
2. You can then: 
   • Change the date range. 
   • Perform a filtered search for a specific payee, category, etc. 
   • Click on any column to sort your payments by who it was Paid to, the Amount, etc.

1. Click Options.
2. Click View History below the payee name.

ESL Bill Pay stores 24 months of payment information. Details for older payments can be obtained from your monthly checking account statement or by contacting the payee. You may also reach out to an ESL Representative, and we can check if additional payment information is available.

1. Sign in to Online Banking.
2. From the Bill Pay menu, select Change a Bill Pay Funding Account.
3. Complete and submit the form for each change you wish to make.

*Please note that these changes are not immediate. Processing a Bill Pay funding account change can take two to three business days. You will receive an email confirmation once your request has been completed.

1. Locate the payment in the Scheduled payments list of the My Payments section. 
2. Click the corresponding edit icon. 
3. Update the payment information that you want to change.
4. Click Save changes

1. Click Options next to the Payee. 
2. Click on the Automatic payment tab on the left side of the Options window. 
3. Change the information that you want to update. 
4. Click Save.

To change the nickname on your funding account for Bill Pay please:

• Locate the I want to... box under the My Payments section of the main payment page.
• Click on the Manage funding account(s) link. 
• Click the Edit link that corresponds to the account you would like to edit. 
• Change the Account nickname and click Save. 

To delete or hide a Bill Pay payee:

In Online Banking

• Click or tap the payee’s Options link.
• Click or tap on the Delete it or Hide it link in the Options window.

In Mobile Banking

• On the Bill Pay Payees screen, tap the payee you wish to delete
• In the top right corner
  • Android – tap the three dot menu then select “Delete payee”
  • IOS – tap Edit then select “Delete payee”

*Please note that once a Bill Pay payee has been deleted, you will no longer be able to view that payee’s payment history within Online Banking. If you think you may need to refer back to the payment history, please hide the payee instead.

eMail notifications regarding Bill Pay transactions are automatically turned on. To make changes to an email notification please: 

• Locate the I want to... box under the My Payments section of the main payment page. 
• Click the Edit reminder and alert preferences link. 
• Click the checkboxes that are associated with the Reminders and Alerts you want to stop receiving. 
• Click the Save button at the bottom of the page.

You may place a stop payment on a Bill Pay transaction only if it is sent as a paper check.  To place the stop payment please speak with an ESL Representative. It would be best to contact the payee and notify them that a stop payment has been placed on the check. 

Although ESL does not charge a fee, it is possible that the payee may charge a fee due to the stop payment.

1. Sign in to online banking.
   1. Mouse over Bill Pay.
   2. Click Request Bill Pay Research.
   3. Complete the form and click Submit.
   4. Our Bill Pay provider (FIS) will need to speak with your payee, so please contact the payee to authorize them to speak with FIS about your account.
   5. Once the research is complete, you will be notified via email of the outcome.
2. You may also contact an ESL Representative for assistance.

You can find additional Bill Pay information and help in our Online Banking Guide and Bill Pay Demo.

If you need further assistance please contact an ESL Representative.

Masking account numbers, or other related sensitive customer information, is a fraud prevention best practice that helps keep your information secure. It also allows ESL to meet certain regulatory requirements in the protection of customer information. If you need to verify the account number for a specific payee, please contact an ESL Representative, and we’d be happy to further assist.

You may complete the following steps to add a memo to a Bill Pay payment sent by check.  (This option will not appear for payments sent electronically.):

• When adding your payment information, prior to clicking the Pay button, click the Memo link under the Pay button.
• Type your Memo and click the Save button.
• Enter the payment’s Send On date and Amount (if you have not already done so) and click the Pay button.

Yes, when scheduling an automatic Bill Pay payment twice monthly, the first payment will be on the same date each month (e.g. the 6th), the second payment will be 15 days later (21st).

To cancel a one-time Bill Pay payment please:

• Locate the payment in the Scheduled payments list of the My Payments section.  
• Click the red X next to the payment you wish to cancel. 
• Click the Yes, Cancel Payment button.

To cancel an automatic Bill Pay payment please:

• Click the payee's Options link.
• Click on the Automatic payment tab on the left side of the Options window. 
• Click the Turn off link in the upper right corner.
• Click the Yes button to confirm your cancelation request when you are prompted.

ESL Bill Pay allows you to edit either a single automatic payment or the automatic payment rule.  To do so please:

• Locate the payment in the My Payments section.
• Click the payee's Pencil icon. 
• Click either the Edit only this payment or the Edit payment rule button.
• Change the information that you want to update. 
• Click the Save changes or the Update button.

To schedule a Bill Pay payment please:

• Type in a Send on date or click on the Calendar icon to select a date using our calendar widget.
• Type in the Amount of the payment.
• Add a memo (if desired) by clicking on the Memo link. 
  • The Memo link will only be available if the payment is sent by check.
• Click the Pay button.

To schedule an automatic Bill Pay payment please:

• Click the payee’s Options link. 
• Click on the Automatic payment tab on the left side of the Options window. 
• Fill out the requested information. 
• Click the Save button.

The next scheduled payment will be listed under Scheduled Payments​ in the My Payments section.  Additionally automatic payments are indicated with a loop icon and the number of days until the next payment displayed to the left of the payee in the My Bills & People I Pay section.

If you received a Bill Pay check that was issued from your own account please contact an ESL Representative.

Payments are sent to the payee before funds are withdrawn from your account.  If the payment is returned for any reason, the Bill Pay service will be blocked.  If the payment was returned because the account did not have sufficient funds Bill Pay will most likely resubmit the payment. The debit attempt cannot be stopped.

While the block is in place any Bill Pay payments scheduled to occur during the blocked period are canceled.

Once the Bill Pay payment successfully clears the checking account, the block will be lifted within three business days. A request to remove the block sooner can be processed by contacting an ESL Representative. 

Once the block is removed; any automatic and one-time payments scheduled to be sent during the blocked period would need to be rescheduled.

When you schedule a Bill Pay payment, ESL Bill Pay sends the funds to the payee on your behalf. ESL Bill Pay will debit your account 1-2 business days after the payment has been sent. 

A minimum of three business days is required for electronic payments to reach the payee; five business days are required for check payments.  Once the payment is received by the payee, it is up to the payee to credit the designated account.

The Online Bill Payment Service enables you to set up recurring payments, make one time payments, and track your payments to individual merchants directly through Online Banking without ever writing a check.

Your payment is sent based on the payee. There are two types of payees:

• Electronic payees are sent via ACH payment. Electronic payments may take up to three business days to reach their destination. The Bill Pay service determines which payees can receive electronic payments.
• Check payees (those that were added to the system manually) will be issued a paper check by the Bill Pay system that will be sent to them via postal mail. Please allow five business days for a check to reach its destination.

The Bill Pay service determines how your payment will be delivered (by ACH or by check.)

In Online Banking, the icon that appears between the payee information and the payment fields indicates the payment method:

• = Payee receives electronic payments. There will be three business days between the “send on” and “delivered by” dates.
• = Payee is paid by paper check. There will be five business days between the “send on” and “delivered by” dates.

Bill payments must be made from an ESL Checking account. Bill payments may also be scheduled from your ESL Health Savings Account.

You can find a lot of helpful information in our Online Banking Guide and Bill Pay Demo.

Due to legal requirements, we limit the ability to make certain types of payments. Payments to payees outside of the United States are prohibited and may not be issued under any circumstances.

Time-sensitive payments are discouraged due to the time it takes (three to five days) for the payment to be delivered. If your payment is due immediately, our Expedited Payment service will deliver electronic payments on the next business day, for a small convenience fee. Some payees may also have real-time payments available at their websites.

Additionally, because of their sensitive nature, we recommend using alternative payment methods for these types of payments:

• Tax payments to the Internal Revenue Service or any state or other government agency
• Court-ordered payments, such as alimony or child support
• Payments to insurance companies