autopay

American  

[aw-toh-pey] / ˈɔ toʊˌpeɪ /

noun

Finance.

1. a computerized service that automatically deducts from an individual’s checking, savings, or money market account an owed recurring payment, as for a bank loan, credit card, or utility bill, in time to meet the payment due date.

   Using autopay helps ensure timely payments and the avoidance of late fees.

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Usage

What does autopay mean in budgeting and savings? Autopay, short for automatic payment, is a computerized service that automatically deducts an owed recurring payment from an individual’s account (usually a checking, savings, or money market account), in time to meet a payment due date.Autopay can usually be set up directly with the company receiving payment or through the payment service of one's bank.Autopay can be set up to make many types of payments, including recurring payments for a bank loan, a credit card, or utility bill, etc. Using autopay for recurring bills ensures timely payments and the avoidance of late fees.

Etymology

Origin of autopay

First recorded in 1980–85; shortening of automatic payment

Example Sentences

Borrowers in the U.S. can enroll in autopay with their student-loan servicers, but it isn’t the default.

From The Wall Street Journal

Unplugging autopay can also make you more cognizant of where your dollars are going, De La Rosa said.

From The Wall Street Journal

As a child, Alonzo’s family squatted in an abandoned diner; now, after decades of hard work, she can put her bills on autopay.

From Los Angeles Times

She recalls one company she used to work for charging a young couple $50 for being only a week late in making their payment: “They had been on their honeymoon and hadn’t been set up on autopay, and the wife was just devastated when she returned and learned there was no wiggle room.”

From Slate

She added, “The digital economy has made purchasing, signing up, and enrolling a breeze. Now the FTC has made a rule that consumers must be able to cancel a subscription just as seamlessly as they can enroll, without the tricks, traps, extra time and roadblocks companies have deployed deceptively for years to keep people on autopay.”

From Los Angeles Times