E-pay in an E-World

Until recently, I would have said that living in today’s fast paced world can be overwhelming and that the internet is a difficult place for those with few technical skills. While the new millenium hasn’t brought us flying cars, most of us have learned the skills for media streaming, e-commerce and online shopping. In these times of social isolation, when society has slowed down, the internet has shown its positive side. It brings the world to our fingertips and allows us to continue to engage with others, whether it be facetiming with Grandma, or ordering socks on Amazon. But these aren’t the only uses for these online commerce tools. They can be used to help seniors manage their money in a way that is safe and efficient.

I have a client right now who is beginning to navigate his way through the early stages of dementia. One thing he has always taken pride in is his bookkeeping, and typically I will visit him in person and pay his bills with him, by check, the way he has always done it. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we no longer have that luxury, and paying bills using a paper-based system is quickly becoming a source of stress and confusion for him and for his family. 

That’s where the internet comes in. We transitioned his personal money management to a digital system to not only keep better track of bills and bank accounts, but to do so in a way that puts him at ease and allows his family to monitor his accounts. So how do we do it?

Online Billpay for Seniors

1. Set up the infrastructure

   • We set up an email account that is specifically for the senior’s billing and banking notifications. That way they do not clog up anyone’s personal email account and can be made accessible to all trusted individuals, including the daily money manager (DMM) who is managing these transactions. This email can be used for resetting passwords, if necessary. Simply put, it keeps all electronic communications in one electronic place.

   • We set up a “digital file cabinet” using a cloud based service. In our practice we use Sharefile but many families may opt for Google Docs or Dropbox for this purpose. Again the digital files can be shared with the DMM and any other trusted individuals.

2. Enable “paperless billing”

   • We turn off paper bills for all standard monthly bills (i.e water, gas, electric), but it can be done for many types of vendors.

   • For smaller vendors, like home care agencies or other service providers, ask if they can email the bill to the DMM or to the client’s legal agent.

   • Each month we download the bill to the digital filing cabinet.

   • Taking care of this step keeps records intact and keeps the payment out of a senior’s workload. Out of sight, out of mind and with no confusion.

3. Connect autopay features

   • For routine bills like mortgage/rent, utilities, cell phone, newspaper subscriptions, etc., we link a checking account or credit card to each bill. (We call these “pull” transactions because the vendor pulls the payment from the account)

   • Autopay ensures that each regular bill is paid without having to think about it. This reduces the amount of time the client, family or DMM has to spend taking care of the bill. 

4. Use online bill pay as needed

   • Of course, there will inevitably be the irregular bill (e.g. medical bills). We usually do this through online bill pay at the bank’s website. (We call these “push” transactions because we are “pushing” it out of the checking account).

   • In cases where the DMM does not have online access to the checking account, we scan and send the bill to the legal agent who does have online access and they pay the bill. 

If you are a financial caregiver for an older adult, consider going digital as much as possible. If their cognitive abilities are declining, the social isolation requirement offers a unique opportunity to transition the paper bills they have been receiving to digital ones and arrange for them to be paid (by you or a DMM). 

If you need advice on how to set it up in your specific situation, please call us at 301-801-2294. We offer a free consultation and may be able to get you started. If you’d rather not do it yourself, we are available to set up the entire digital bill paying system for you or your senior. 

The internet can not only help us during these trying times, but it can bring us together as well. We hope that you all are staying happy and healthy, and please feel free to give us a call anytime, we are here for you as always.