Is Your Bill Payment Automatic Yet?

Meet Femi.

Femi lives in Gbagada. He has a wife and two kids. He is a technician at a top IT firm, and his wife is an engineer. They both work long hours, so they have to hire help to manage some of their domestic chores. Today, Femi realized that he has been so swamped with work that he forgot that it was his turn to handle the bill payments for the month.

He didn’t understand why his gateman was dragging his feet this morning, until he mumbled under his breath “Oga, I never chop oh,” complete with an accusatory glare. Even worse, his son who was home on half term called him to complain that the DSTV was cut off, but that also meant that his student loan payments from his years at the University of Michigan was overdue, and he hadn’t paid the estate fees, amongst others. There were some bills that would automatically attract penalties.

He was in a training all day today in a place with no wifi, and he was not looking forward to hearing it from his wife when he got home.

Femi is in trouble.

Don’t be like Femi.

One of the ways technology has made life management more effective has been through the automation of bill pay. You can set up automatic payment plans for utility, entertainment, household, salaries, and other bills. These days, anything that allows us to spend less time on the mundane and frees up our time and creates convenience always sells itself. So it is surprising that many people still burden themselves with the task of trying to keep up with payments that must be made in the same amount, at the same time, every month.

With automated bill payment, the amount is debited from your account each month and is deposited in the appropriate place, without your having to lift a finger. All you have to do is make sure that the amount you need to cover your bills is available in your account. It makes life easier knowing that bills are paid on time and in full each month.

Not only is automatic bill payment convenient but it also helps eliminate identity theft issues. With less need for handling your cards, checks, paper statements, and so on, its less chance of your information being out there. Although there are legitimate worries about online payments, only use secure platforms like Paga and others to handle your sensitive information.

Don’t be like Femi.

Set up your bills to be paid automatically, but don’t get careless; you should always keep track of your account balance and remember when to stop payments on certain defunct accounts or for example, staff that no longer work for you. Good financial habits are rooted in an awareness of your spending and saving habits.

If you don’t already have a paga account, sign up for one today and enjoy services like automated bill payments as we are integrated with most merchants in Nigeria.

Making Life Possible is our ethos at paga, and it is what keeps us committed to our mission of providing inclusive financial services for all Nigerians. With over 15,000 agent outlets and 8 million+ customers, we are inspired by the stories of the community we are building and the people we are empowering by making life possible every single day.