But Washington Mutual absorbs the late charge if the customer follows the rules and the payment didn't reach the creditor on time. First USA, which will take your checking account information over the phone for bill payment, has a few hours' delay. Payments made before 4 p.m. are posted to the account after midnight and the money is available the following day. These lag times are critical to know because many banks demand payment by a certain time of day. They have rules like 9 a.m. deadlines.
Fees are another consideration.
Those who prefer to stick with the U.S. Postal Service are advised to not play it too close to the wire. Trying to gauge how long it takes a payment to reach the bank is a crapshoot. And holidays and inclement weather can delay delivery. Grace periods have gotten shorter. Fleet Bank went from 25 days to 20.