Swallowed by the BoA behemoth

August 5, 2008 11:55 AM

Question for Bank of America checking account holders re: electronic bill paying.

I need to make a monthly direct deposit to my mortgagee's non-BoA bank account. The mortgagee is not set up to receive automatic transfers through BoA's online bill pay system. How do I accomplish this without making a wire transfer (which involves walking into a branch each month and paying $20 for the privilege)?

The only solution I can come up with is to have BoA cut a check directly to the mortgagee's bank, and specify in the memo field the routing number and account number. I suspect, however, that this is not terribly secure or dependable. Any thoughts?

posted by Saucy Intruder to Work & Money (14 answers total)

You should be talking to BoA about this, not to us.
posted by Class Goat at 12:01 PM on August 5, 2008

Can you talk to your payroll department about initiating the direct deposit? I have my check DDed to Bank of America, but they also wire my car payment directly from my employer to a credit union.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 12:15 PM on August 5, 2008

+ 1 to talking to BoA.

But I have used BoA's payment system to pay businesses and people who do not accept electronic transfers. It's worked fine for me.
posted by iwhitney at 12:28 PM on August 5, 2008

You can set up BoA bill pay to send checks to the mortgagee rather than the bank. Leave it to the mortgagee to deposit the checks. This is how I pay my rent, for instance.
posted by jedicus at 12:29 PM on August 5, 2008

I've used Bank of America's electronic bill pay system for years, including setting up new payees without any trouble. Checks have been sent reliably and without (as far as I know) shenanigans.
posted by peacecorn at 12:34 PM on August 5, 2008

BofA bill pay is a reliable method of sending checks. +1 to just having mortgagee deposit them, rather than bank-to-bank.

You can even schedule it recurring, I believe.
posted by blastrid at 12:45 PM on August 5, 2008

As with peacecorn, I've used their bill paying services for years for both electronic transfers and checks. Haven't had any problems, ever.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 1:02 PM on August 5, 2008

Another years-long recurring payment user here. I also recommend letting the mortgagee deposit it. Just be sure you have the right address to send it to and account number on it.
posted by cocoagirl at 1:03 PM on August 5, 2008

Response by poster: guys.. I love you all, but please read the question. I need to make a direct deposit. I can't send checks or have BoA send checks.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 1:28 PM on August 5, 2008

I need to make a direct deposit.

Why? Just out of curiosity.

This is something you need to call BoA about, in any case.
posted by rusty at 1:31 PM on August 5, 2008

I paid my landlord using an "automatic payment" from my BofA account to his Credit Union savings account on a monthly basis. It was free, and wasn't technically a wire transfer.

Just go to a BofA branch and ask them to setup an automatic payment for you. You'll need his account number, routing number, name of the bank and whether the account is savings or checking. I think that's it.

Don't worry -- they can do this and it's free.
posted by BobbyVan at 1:34 PM on August 5, 2008

To be clear: the automatic payment will directly deposit the funds for you.
posted by BobbyVan at 1:59 PM on August 5, 2008

So BofA sends a paper check on the payment date, then the recipient deposits the check later?
posted by kirkaracha at 2:26 PM on August 5, 2008

BOA also has a transfer funds to an outside account option in the online banking. I believe it's a $3 fee and you can't schedule them, but you can do it online and it doesn't involve going into the actual bank.
posted by teleri025 at 4:11 PM on August 5, 2008