CATS Online Account Access & Bill Payment
Most Frequently Asked Questions CATS Online Account Access
Most Frequently Asked Questions Bill Payment Service
For more information, please read the "Help" function located within Bill Payment Service. View Bill Payment disclosure here.
Having Trouble with Bill Pay?
General Bill Pay Questions
How do I activate Bill Payment Service?
How much does Bill Payment Service cost?
Can I pay bills from my savings account?
Why do I get the message: "Connection Expired?"
How do I cancel Bill Payment Service?
Payment Questions
How are payments made to merchants?
How many days in advance should I schedule my payments?
What is the payment guarantee?
What if I need to pay a bill immediately, or the due date I entered is less than 5 days prior to the due date? Will my bill get paid?
What if I enter incorrect merchant information?
When must the money be available in my checking account?
When is the payment actually sent?
Can you pay bills from outside the U.S.?
Is there a maximum dollar amount for each payment?
How do I verify if my bill has been paid?
If my bill was paid late, who pays for the late charges?
What is a properly scheduled payment?
Can I cancel a scheduled payment?
What if a merchant says they haven't received my payment? Or, I have a question about a specific bill payment?
Can I "Stop Payment" on a bill?
Payee/Merchant Set-Up Questions
What types of payees/merchants can I set up to pay?
How many merchants can I set up?
Are there any merchants that I cannot pay with this service?
Can I pay OUCU with Bill Payment Service?
General Bill Pay Questions
How do I activate Bill Payment Service?
You also must have an OUCU checking account to use Bill Payment. From the homepage of our Web site www.oucu.org, click on the CATS Online icon in the upper right corner. Once in CATS Online click on the "Pay Bills" icon located at the top of the page. You will automatically activate the Bill Payment Service once you agree to the Disclosure Agreement that appears on your screen after clicking on "Pay Bills."
How much does Bill Payment Service cost?
If you have a Dividend Checking S70 or Free Checking S71 checking account, the service is FREE if you have signed up for eStatement electronic monthly statement service. Otherwise, it is $3.95 per month. If you have an S72 Business Checking account, the service is $6.95 per month.
There is an inactivity fee of $6.95 per month after 90 days of no usage. You may cancel the service at any time by calling or emailing the Credit Union.
Can I pay bills from my savings account?
No. This service is only available for members with an OUCU checking account.
Why do I get the message: "Connection Expired?"
As a safety measure, the Bill Payment system automatically logs you off after 10 minutes of no key strokes. Also, CATS Online Account Access will also log off automatically after 10 minutes of no key strokes.
How do I cancel Bill Payment?
You will need to let OUCU know by calling the credit union at (800)562-8420 or (740)597-2800, stopping by, or by sending an email to memberservices@oucu.org.
Payment Questions
How are payments made to merchants?
Payments are made electronically, which is transmitted 2 business days prior to the due date, or by check, which is mailed 5 business days before the due date. The payment method depends upon the payment method accepted by the merchant.
How many days in advance should I schedule my payments?
The Bill Payment vendor will make payments to merchants either electronically or by mailed paper check, depending on the merchant. Electronic payments must be scheduled 2 business days in advance of the due date, excluding grace periods. Mailed, paper check payments must be scheduled 5 business days in advance of due date, excluding grace periods. When payments are scheduled in this manner, payment is guaranteed.
Initial payments should be set up 3 business days in advance if merchant is not found in searchable database. See the Help function in Bill Payment Service for more details.
You can set up a one-time Today payment, a one-time Future payment up to one year in the future, or a recurring payment up to 45 years in the future.
What is the payment guarantee?
The payment guarantee ensures that if a payment is late, the late fees and finance charges will be removed by the merchant (or paid by OUCU's bill pay vendor) and that the member's account is appropriately noted. Payments to "excluded merchants" are not covered by the payment guarantee (taxes, court-ordered, non-US merchants, payments to settle securities transactions, payments to payoff special financing transactions, payments sent to Armed Forces postal codes).
What if I need to pay a bill immediately, or the due date I entered is less then 5 days prior to the due date? Will my bill get paid?
If we have already verified the merchant information (i.e. "pending" does not appear next to the payee in "View History"), payments can be sent as soon as the next business day as long as funds are available in your checking account or Overdraft account. Keep in mind that you must allow 3-5 business days for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver your payments.
What if I enter incorrect merchant information?
It is VERY IMPORTANT that you enter your information accurately. A wrong address may result in a payment not being received by your merchant by the designated due date. Also, a wrong account number could result in the payment being posted to the wrong account.
When must the money be available in my checking account?
As a general rule, funds must be available in your checking account by midnight on the date before the funds are scheduled to be debited from your checking account (usually 2 or 5 business days before the due date).
If you are making a Today payment - you go in today and schedule it for today, you MUST have available funds in your checking account. If you want to use your overdraft line of credit for a Today payment, you must go into CATS Online and manually transfer the funds from your line of credit to your checking before scheduling the Today payment. If you are scheduling a payment for tomorrow or later date, the funds do not have to be in your account and it will pull from your overdraft line of credit at that future payment date if funds are not available on that payment date.
When is the payment actually sent?
Payment is debited from your account 7 days a week, but is only processed/sent Monday-Friday, excluding holidays.
Can you pay bills from outside the U.S.?
Yes, as long as the merchant and merchant address is within the US. All payments will be made in U.S. dollars. You cannot make payments to a foreign address, however.
Is there a maximum dollar amount for each payment?
Yes, the maximum amount per single payment is $25,000.
How do I verify if my bill has been paid?
You can check with the merchant you are paying or check your "accounts" history in CATS Online.
If my bill was paid late, who pays for the late charges?
You will not be responsible for the late charges if:
- you entered in the correct due date;
- you allowed the required days before due date by properly scheduling the payment;
- you entered in the correct account information;
- you entered the correct merchant information and
- made a properly scheduled payment.
You ARE responsible for any late fees that occur because:
- you have not given us accurate or complete information
- you do not have sufficient available funds in your account OR
- you have not instructed us to make the payment on time
See more information in Bill Payment Disclosure when signing on to Bill Payment Service for the first time.
What is a "properly scheduled payment?"
Electronic payments must be scheduled 2 business days in advance of the due date, excluding grace periods. Check payments must be scheduled 5 business days in advance of due date, excluding grace periods. When payments are scheduled in this manner, payment is guaranteed.
The guarantee ensures that if a payment is late, the late fees and finance charges will be removed by the merchant (or paid by OUCU's bill pay vendor) and that the member's account is appropriately noted. Payments to "excluded merchants" are not covered by the payment guarantee (taxes, court-ordered, non-US merchants, collection agencies, terrorist organizations) as well as payments to settle securities transactions, payments to payoff special financing transactions, payments sent to Armed Forces postal codes.
Can I cancel a scheduled payment?
Yes. A payment may be cancelled before midnight the day before the scheduled payment date. If you use bill payment today to make a Today scheduled payment, you cannot cancel that payment.
What if a merchant says they haven't received my payment? Or, I have question on a specific bill payment?
Please verify the following before contacting us:
- Check to see if the funds were deducted from your account.
- Check to see if all merchant information you entered is correct
- Check to see when payment was sent (same date funds were deducted from account) and allow 5 business days from the mail date for the payment to be received by the merchant.
- If you have questions, contact the Bill Pay Call Center at 800-863-0939 or send Online Payment Message. Please include specific information on the payment in question along with your daytime phone number.
Can I "Stop Payment" on a Bill?
Only in the following circumstance: if the bill was paid by check (money deducted from your account 5 business days before due date). If the bill was paid electronically, no stop payment can be placed.
Merchant Set-up Questions
What type of Payees/Merchants can I set-up to pay?
You can choose from an established list of payees or set up any other merchant you need to pay (including piano teacher, paper route worker, etc.)
If your new merchant is not found in the database, it can take up to 8 business days to pay the bill. Thereafter, you only need to schedule your payment in advance by 2 or 5 business days.
How many merchants can I set up?
You may set up a maximum of 250 merchants.
Are there any merchants that I cannot pay with this service?
Yes, you cannot pay any taxing entities, collection agencies, court-ordered payments, payees outside the U.S or terrorist organizations.
Can I pay OUCU with Bill Payment Service?
No. Use CATS Online to make any loan payments to OU Credit Union. Use the "Transfer" icon to transfer funds from your deposit account to your loan account. You can pay your OUCU loan and your OUCU credit card using the "Transfer" function.
Checking balance is showing $0.
On the Bill Pay home page there will be a button that says “update balance”. If it is not there, call OUCU at 800-562-8420 or the bill pay company ORCC at 800-863-0939.
It does nothing when I click “Pay Bills”.
You need to turn off your pop-up blocker. This is located under Tools—Internet Options.
Pop-up blocker is off and I still can’t get in.
Call OUCU at 800-562-8420 or send us an instant message in CAT Chat.
If you have a google/yahoo toolbar, please note these have an automatic pop-up blocker built into it. You will need to disable it or uninstall the toolbar.
It says “Connection Expired”
Bill Pay automatically logs you off after 15 minutes of non-use.
