Using an online bill payment service can make traveling for extended periods of time less stressful and eliminate the need to prepay all your bills before you leave. When combined with electronic funds transfer and automatic deposit, it might not be necessary to ever to to the old brick and mortar bank again.

Some people are afraid to use online bill payment services due to concerns about security and potential for fraud.

Online banking sites use SSL encryption which protects the information you send to the bank from casual eavesdropping. Electronic banking transactions are protected by the Federal Reserve System Electronic Fund Transfer Act, which limits liability for fraudulent transactions to a total of $50. Instances of fraud in this area have been considerably lower than other types of fraud, probably because the transactions are so well documented that it is difficult to escape with funds. Many providers limit liability for consumers to $0 as long as the transactions are entered within the correct time limits.

Of course, it is important to protect the security information for your account and change the password periodically to prevent unauthorized use of your online account. If you use a web browser in a public location, be sure to clear its cache before leaving.