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Utility Billing Online Bill Pay

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1. What is online bill pay?

Online Bill Pay allows you to set up an account to view and pay your Utility bills online, set up reoccurring payments and the option to discontinue paper bills. All payments made before 9 p.m. PST will be processed the next business day. Payments made after 9 p.m. PST will be processed in 2 business days. Please allow up to 3 to 5 business days for your payment to be reflected on your bank account. Payments over $5,000 cannot be processed online.

Important: If your services are in the process of being shut off you cannot use this service as a method of preventing it, payment needs to be made in person or via phone. Please pay at the Utility Billing office located at 3101 Cedar Street, Everett, WA 98201 or over the phone at 425-257-8999 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

2. What is required to sign up for the online bill pay service?

See below:

• You will be asked to create a User ID and Password. Passwords must be between 8 and 16 characters, with at least one letter and one number.
• You will need to check the box "Yes, I agree to the Terms and Conditions."
• You will need to decide if you want to continue receiving paper bills. If so, UNCHECK the box next to "Yes, please discontinue sending me a paper bill."
• You will need to login to begin.
• You will need your City of Everett Utility account number, customer number, and the house number of the service address.
• Your computer must have an operating system and web browser that is supported by this service (see "What browsers and operating systems (OS) are supported" below)

When you have completed enrollment you will be able to login and view your most recent bill and make online payments.

3. Is there a service charge for using online bill pay service?

Not at this time.

4. Is there a limit to the amount I can pay online?

Yes, any payments over $5,000 cannot be processed online.

5. Can I make a payment using my checking account?

Yes, but if your payment gets returned by the bank for any reason - insufficient funds, closed account, incorrect account numbers, etc. - you will be charged an NSF Fee and your service will be in jeopardy of being disconnected.

6. Will you send me a confirmation of my payment?

Yes, an email confirmation will be sent to a valid email address you provide.

7. Can a payment be cancelled?

Cancellation of payments applies only to ACH Payments (payments utilizing a Bank Account; this does not include Credit/Debit cards). Cancellation of payments will be processed by the City Department receiving the payment. Cancellations can only be processed prior to the close of business on the same day the payment was made.

8. What is the refund process?

Refund requests should be directed toward the city department receiving the payment. Refunds may take 2 to 3 weeks to process and must comply with the refund policy of the city department in receipt of the payment.

9. Late Payments

If your payment is received after the due date of a bill, regardless of any cause except for our failure to reasonably process your explicit payment instruction actually received by us, you will remain responsible for any late charges and interest assessed, the same as if you mailed your payment to us and we received it after the due date. This would be true even if you are unable to access the system due to problems with the Internet, or the service is temporarily unavailable.

Therefore, we recommend that you instruct the Services to initiate each payment to us at least 4 business days before the actual due date. Business days are Monday through Friday, except for federal banking holidays. If you use the Services to send us your payment instructions after 9 p.m. (PST) on a business day, then the Services will treat your instructions as if it was received on the following business day. It is the day we receive payment from you, and not the day we receive your instructions, that determines whether your payment was timely received.

10. When setting up my payment method, where can I find my bank’s routing transit number and checking account number?

The routing transit number can be found on the lower left-hand side of your check. The checking account number is to the right of the routing number. An illustration is provided when adding or modifying a bank account in payment methods.

11. Can I set up more than one bank account to make online payments from?

Yes, just click on payment methods to add new bank accounts or modify existing bank accounts.

12. Do you accept credit card or debit card payments?

Yes, we accept VISA or MasterCard, credit cards or debit cards. Debit cards are processed the same as credit cards.

13. How can I print a copy of my online bill?

Click Print/Save to display the PDF version of the bill, then use the print option from Adobe® Reader®. You may also use the print function on your web browser, but that method may produce unsatisfactory results.

14. How can I continue or discontinue the paper bill being mailed to me?

When you enroll for Online Bill Pay service, you will need to decide if you want to continue receiving paper bills. If so uncheck the box next to "Yes, please discontinue sending me a paper bill". If you are already enrolled, click Account Setup, then click on the account number for which you want to change the option for receiving paper bills. Then click the Yes or No button and click Update.

15. How secure is my sensitive banking information and personal information? How can I know that this information will not be intercepted?

The Online Bill Pay service uses the following security features:

• Automatic Sign Out: This service automatically signs you out after 20 minutes of inactivity.
• Encryption: This service strictly enforces 128-bit encryption security levels for users accessing this service. All users accessing this service must ensure that their Web browsers are set to enable 128-bit encryption.
• SSL: This service uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) that ensures your connection and information is secure.

16. How do I know when a secure session has been created?

Most of the supported browsers will give you a message box stating when you are going into a secure session. For instance, in Internet Explorer, on the bottom right side of the browser window, when there is a secure session in place, there is an icon that looks like a small padlock, with the lock closed. Another indication that your browser is operating in secure mode can be found in the web site address. The address will begin with (http://) in standard, non-secure mode and with (https://) in secure mode. The 's' in 'https' stands for secure.

17. What web browsers and operating systems (OS) are supported?

This service uses 128-bit encryption to make your information unreadable as it passes over the Internet. Therefore, it is strongly recommend that you use one of the supported browsers listed below.

Supported Web Browsers

• AOL 10.1 or newer
• Apple Safari 5.1 or newer
• Google Chrome 11.0 or newer
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 or newer
• Mozilla Firefox 6.0 or newer

Supported OS

• Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6.3, 10.7
• MS XP SP2
• Windows 7
• Windows Vista

18. Why are only some versions of browsers supported?

To help ensure that your confidential financial information is protected in transit, messages are encrypted between your browser and this service. Some browser versions do not support the needed levels of encryption.

19. What are my obligations to help maintain secure transactions with Online Bill Pay service?

You are responsible for not giving out your bank account information, bank routing information, or City of Everett Utility account information. You also must be sure that you are using an appropriate browser. Be sure to close your browser immediately after you are finished transacting your payment(s). For more details, please view the City of Everett eCommerce Terms and Conditions.

20. How can I contact Customer Service if I have questions, problems or feel my user name and password have been compromised with the Online Bill Pay service?

Please contact us at 425-257-8999, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST or email us.