News Release

Contacts

New Joint Effort for Automatic Bill Payment Announced

SAN FRANCISCO, August 25, 1998--Starting in September, millions of Bay Area consumers can take advantage of a special joint promotion by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, City of Mountain View Utilities, City of Vacaville Municipal Services, City of Livermore Municipal Water Service, and the City of Santa Rosa, to sign up for Automatic Bill Payment and have their bills paid directly from their checking accounts.

This new joint effort builds on the successful Direct Payment pilot program carried out in the Bay Area last year, which prompted over 60,000 consumers to sign up for automatic bill payments. During this year's program, customers may sign up with one or more of the participating billers by filling out and mailing in a single universal form.

Along with saving consumers time and money by eliminating check writing and bill mailing, Automatic Bill Payment also guarantees customers that they will be current with their bills, whether they are out of town, out of the country, or just busy. Another potential benefit is that a history of on-time payments helps maintain a good credit standing, and may be a way to improve a credit rating following a financial setback.

Automatic Bill Payment is also known as direct payment, or Automated Clearing House (ACH) debiting. Many people already use this secure payment mechanism to make mortgage, auto loan, and insurance payments. The ACH is also used for direct deposit of payroll and Social Security benefits. Each year, over five billion transactions are completed through the ACH.

The Western Payments Alliance (WesPay) and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco are supporting the billing organizations by organizing the cooperative effort to promote Automatic Bill Payment. WesPay is a non-profit trade association for financial institutions participating in the nationwide electronic payments system known as the Automated Clearing House (ACH).

"Automatic Bill Payment saves consumers time and money," according to Peter Yeatrakas, president of Western Payments Alliance. "With Automatic Bill Payment, there are no checks to write, envelopes to return, or stamps to buy."

John F. Moore, first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said, "we think the convenience and security of Automatic Bill Payment is an excellent payment option for consumers. Our efforts to facilitate this joint promotion in the Bay Area are right in line with the Federal Reserve System's mandate to promote a more efficient payment system throughout the nation."

During the joint Automatic Bill Payment promotion, the billing organizations will distribute enrollment forms in their monthly or bi-monthly customer statements. Customers who sign up will be notified in a future bill statement that they are enrolled in the program and no longer need to send payments. Once enrolled in Automatic Bill Payment, a customer will receive at least ten-day advance notice of the date and amount of each automatic payment that will be withdrawn from their checking account. Proof of payment will appear on the next billing statement and on the customer's checking account statement. If a customer decides to stop paying a bill automatically, all it takes is a phone call or a note to the billing organization.

Interested consumers should watch for enrollment forms in future bills. Other billing organizations, such as utilities, telecommunications providers, and municipalities are expected to join the program in the future. Consumers who are interested in paying more bills automatically should contact any company they pay regularly, and ask if they can have their checking account automatically debited. Other Bay Area organizations that bill their customers regularly may contact the Western Payments Alliance at (650) 871-8762 for information about the Automatic Bill Payment program.

Contacts

PG&E	Diana Gapuz	(415) 973-5914
EBMUD	Brian McCrea	(510) 287-0134
San Francisco Newspaper Agency	Joan Panero	(415) 777-6372
City of Livermore Municipal Water Service	Evan Levy	(510) 373-5154
City of Mountain View Utilities	Maryanne Achterberg	(650) 903-6317
City of Vacaville Municipal Services	Jimmie Zimmerman	(707) 449-5315
City of Santa Rosa	Nola Stans	(707) 543-3159
City of Santa Rosa	Patty Kutches	(707) 543-3176
WesPay	Dianna Weston	(650) 871-8762
FRBSF	Andrew Osenar	(503) 221-6011
FRBSF	Carol Eckert	(415) 977-3853