After I set up my THRIVE chequing account and funded it from my ING Direct, now Tangerine.ca, Savings Account, I ordered some cheques to pay the school nuisance activity fees charged by our “free” public education system. Next, I decided to try paying my Bell phone bill from the account. This will be a true test of any online bill payment system because we all know how that if a bill is going to go astray it will be a telephone bill with the resulting hours and days spent on hold trying to straighten out the whole sorry mess. Wish me luck!

NOTE: Tangerine re-designed their website in 2017 This article has been replaced. Please see How to add or delete a Bill Payee for a Tangerine account.

And here’s what I did:

Set up to Pay the Bill for a New Company Online for Free from a Tangerine Chequing Account

First, you need to add the company to the list of bills you can pay online from your account. To do that, I followed these steps:

1. Login to your Tangerine accounts.
   1. Click on the View My Accounts link.
   2. Click on your Chequing Account.
   3. From the link list at the left side of the screen, click on Pay My Bills.
2. On the Pay My Bills page, click on the Manage Bill Payees button near the bottom of the screen beside the Submit button.
3. Click on the Add Payee button.
   1. In the Payee Name field, type the name of the company.
      For example, I typed: Bell.
   2. A list of all the matches available will be shown.
      If necessary, click on the Search button.
      Then select the province from the drop-down list.
4. 1. Sigh. Time to phone Tangerine. (Phoning Bell is definitely a last resort only!)
   2. Rats. Tangerine says I have to phone Bell.
   3. Christine at Bell LiveChat says I should select Bell One Bill. (Foolish me, I picked who the cheques should be made payable to.) I’d like to thank her for her prompt, courteous response.
   4. Here’s how the Tangerine system responded:
      Add Payee
      Company Name: BELL ONE BILL – BELL FACTURE UNIQUE
      Nickname:
      Account Number:
      Account Number Hint:
      Please enter the 14 character alpha-numeric Customer ID number located directly above or below the ‘amount paid’ box on your bell invoice, without any spaces, dashes or periods. Please do not use the number labeled as the “account number”.
   5. It worked!
5. In the Nickname field, add a simpler name for the bill if you want. For example I typed: home telephone.
   This is especially useful if you have, for example, two Mastercards
6. In the Account Number field, type the number from your bill.
7. Click on the Submit button.
8. Check the account number shown on the Pay My Bills screen is correct.

You’re ready to pay the bill.

How to Pay a Bill Online for Free from a Tangerine Chequing Account

Please be aware that it can take a long time for a bill to be paid after you enter the bill payment online. This is true of any bank or financial institution. Although it looks like the money left your account and went to the billing company immediately, it doesn’t really happen that way. It can take several business days for the transaction to be completed. Always pay bills online well ahead of the due date. If it doubt, call the company you owe money to and discuss the matter with them.

For example, I paid a credit card bill using ING Direct Tangerine online on April 19. The credit card company says the bill was paid on April 21. Be careful not to miss the payment due date!

1. Login to your Tangerine accounts.
2. From the list of links on the left hand side, click on Pay My Bills.
3. For the correct Payee from the list, click in the Amount ($) box and type the amount you wish to pay.
   For example, I typed: 17.42
4. If desired, select the Later or Ongoing button. The default selected is Now.
5. When the information is correct, click on the Go button.
6. Review the displayed information. If it is correct, click on the Submit button.
7. Copy and save or print the confirmation number and other information including the date/time stamp. You might need this to resolve any billing disputes.
8. Click on the Log Me Out link to end your session.
9. Close your browser to increase the security of your banking information.

For businesses like Bell, it’s a good idea to check online a few business days later and make sure the bill is reported as paid. [I did and it is. Phew!]

Related Reading

• How to Open a Tangerine.ca Chequing Account
• How to Order Cheques for aTangerine Chequing Account
• How to Set Up Automatic Transfers to a Tangerine.ca Account
• How to Cancel a Tangerine Automatic Savings Program (ASP)

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Do you pay your bills online? Have you ever had a company charge you interest claiming you paid your bill too late? Please share your experiences with a comment.