ePost it
Posted by Keelan on August 21st, 2007
I do all my banking online (like most people, other than my parents).
In terms of bills, I have a pretty good handle on how much I owe to who and by when. So most of the paper bills I receive in the mail go directly into the recycle bin without being opened. Therefore, I could do without receiving them in the mail, but I don’t always have that option.
I’ve been using Canada Post’s ePost service for several years now, basically since it was launched, although I don’t remember when that was.
ePost works pretty well. I add my billers by company name and account number, then instead of receiving monthly paper bills in the mail, an electronic copy goes into my ePost inbox. If I wish, ePost will send me an email notification when I have received a new bill.
No fuss, no muss, and BTW, no unnecessary waste.
Recently, ePost got together with Canada’s banks (Montreal, CIBC, Citizens, Laurentian, National, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust) and numerous credit unions to make bills received through ePost available within online banking. I bank with CIBC who calls this service ‘E-Bills’ – my E-Bills inbox is shown below.
The unfortunate thing is that many of companies I receive bills from (e.g. Home Depot, Hydro Ottawa, Enbridge, Sears, Best Buy, Future Shop) don’t give me the option to stop receiving paper bills and only receive electronic bills through ePost. Rogers, MasterCard and the City of Ottawa are some of the billers that do let me receive my bills only through ePost and have for some time now.
It’s really time for companies to provide customers with the option to only receive their bills electronically whether through ePost or another system.
August 21st, 2007 » 10:43 pm
The reason why they can’t stop sending you paper is a legal one. Anything tied to a revolving credit product requires banks and credit unions, by law, to send a paper statement. Talk to the government to get this one changed.
September 18th, 2007 » 12:57 pm
That may well be the case in some circumstances. However, why I can get my MasterCard bill via epost, but not my Visa bill? Likewise, I can get my Rogers bill via epost, but not my Enbridge bill.
September 24th, 2007 » 3:23 pm
Companies can send documents in electronic format only, and specifically in epost they are able to do so because each document is postmarked by Canada Post. What this means is that the document is deemed to be “in the post” and so protected under the Canada Post Act. Tampering with mail is a federal offence. Companies can chose whether they continue to send physical copies or not with the epost service.
December 4th, 2007 » 4:49 pm
[...] A while back I posted about how ePost had got together with Canada’s banks and credit unions to make bills received through ePost available within online banking. I commented how it was unfortunate, from a convenience and waste perspective, that many of companies I receive bills from (e.g. Home Depot, Hydro Ottawa, Enbridge, Sears, Best Buy, Future Shop) don’t give me the option to stop receiving paper bills. [...]
March 13th, 2008 » 6:16 pm
I have been using epost for years as well and love it!
I travel frequently and it really helps me to stay organized whether I’m away or at home. It also helps to reduce the amount of mail in my mailbox while I’m away – great for privacy and security purposes.
I just wish that all the major billers would give me the option to receive my bills at epost. It’s frustrating to know that they can and just won’t.
I’ve inquired about it at a couple of these billers and they tell me to “simply” go to their website to sign on and view it there. For some reason, they seem to think that I am inclined to remember a user name and password for the dozen or so bills that I receive. Why would I want to bother? I’m sure they’d love to drive up their online traffic numbers and market other products/services to me “while I’m there”.
At least through epost, I sign onto my bank site, click “View my Bills” and in one shot I see my Bell, Rogers, Enersource, Visa, pay stubs, etc. I actually get annoyed with billers that have the ability to offer online billing, but don’t make it available through epost. I’d rather just get the paper copy (which ends up shredded because I can’t be bothered to file). That leads me to the best part about epost – your documents are archived for 7 years so I don’t have to file anything. I can also do year over year compares on things like my hydro bill.
Very cool.
January 6th, 2009 » 2:47 pm
In my opinion , Considering all these current environmental issues related to paper based mail. There must be laws for companies to use epost to provide online bills. Paper billing may be available as an option (Wih an additional cost to discourage use of paper).
We need to make epost as a part of culture. More and more people should use it , Replacing the paper , saving some trees.
I wish political parties like Green party or Liberals could make it as part of their agenda to form some sort of law .
June 29th, 2009 » 6:31 pm
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