Seniors who are dabbling with the internet long enough to know that internet shopping is really the “in” thing nowadays must have experienced once or twice the joys of online payments. I must admit, the first time I experienced a successful online transaction, I was instantly hooked! From then on, I tried to resist the temptation of buying online. Just consider this:  prices are almost cut down in half, convenience in paying for these things, no need to go out and risk foot injury at the end of the day just by inspecting rows upon rows of stuff—most of them you don’t even need, and most of all, just wait for your parcel to be delivered right at your doorstep—no matter how big or small your item must be! I say, for a senior like me, online shopping is one of the most valuable things made possible by the internet–EVER!
So you could just imagine the excitement I felt when I discovered that my bank actually encouraged their members to pay bills online—and they are giving away rewards for doing so. E-payments are the next best thing that ever happened to seniors like me who are having a hard time ordering checks from a bank, mailing it to pay their bills as well as the cost that comes with it—that is, stamps, checks etc., then let’s not forget the risk of losing the check on its way to the billing company. All these can add stress to an already stressful senior life every month, whereas paying your bills online is as easy as few clicks on your keyboard!
If security is your problem, rest assured that most banking institutions are triple safe than your regular online shopping sites. However, just to stay on the safer side, here are some online bill payment practices you need to remember:

• Your password is the most crucial. You need to change them on a regular basis so that your account won’t risk being cracked by identity thieves. Try to do combinations of letters and numbers that are not in anyway connected to your personal information such as birthdays, anniversaries, and even names.
• Never pay your bills on public computers since you can never be sure if these computers are safe or if they are infected with malicious programs that can steal your bank information.
• Never respond to emails requesting for your information such as username and password. If your bank needs these things, they will wait for you until you personally access your account and will make you do updates while you are in the site itself.
• Make sure you are doing transactions with the right URL. FYI, URL is the address of a website located at the upper bar of your browser alongside reload, back and forward buttons. This usually starts with letters “http”. Consider this as your home address or the address of your bank for that matter. Payments should only be done within the bank’s premises.
• Always check your account balance so you can spot discrepancies at once. Report to your bank whenever you feel funny about something.