nvtech

Hello FT Community,

I have recurring Insurance payments and unfortunately, the provider doesn't take cards and it has to be only bank EFT.
The other option I have is to send a check.

I am trying to explore the options of using credit cards or visa gift cards to make payments from external providers.
I checked Western Union, Money Gram, and Plastiq and found the provider is present at all of those places.
Plastiq is the only one I see with the lowest fee of 2.5% on credit cards.

Do I have any better options to use Visa gift cards?..maybe WM bill pay?...appreciate your suggestions.

radonc1

I have the same problem.

I have explored many ways to try and pay my Life Insurance (and I am being specific about Life Insurance) bill, but my company will only accept, as you noted, EFT or personal check.

Unfortunately, Life Insurance can be used for money laundering, especially whole life where there is a savings element to the policy along with the insurance. So, for example, a criminal who wanted to wash 3 million dollars of ill gotten cash, could go and buy a 3 million dollar whole life policy (using lots of MOs, for example) which for the first year had a insurance cost of $100K and a savings segment of $2.9M. He then takes a loan on the $2.9M savings portion and lets the policy lapse. It cost him $100K to wash $3M. This is why the Feds strictly regulate how money is paid into buying Life Insurance policies.

Now to your question.

I do my usual MSing by buying GCs and converting them into MOs. I deposit the MOs into a specific bank checking account and use that account to pay my life insurance bills as well as any other bill that only accepts cash or checks.

While my purists do not consider this true MSing, I don't see the difference. I have used my CC to buy GCs and convert to MOs to pay a bill (albeit by check).

Hope this helps.

Edit: I thought that your question was about "Life Insurance". I think that since your provider is in multiple sites such as Plastique, your question may be more general about insurance such as Auto or Home. People with knowledge about using WMBP, etc. can answer your question more correctly. However, my point about Life Insurance payments stands.

nvtech

Hey....Thanks a lot for your reply. What you told really makes sense of the whole life policies. I have heard through a friend of mine on how they overfund their policy and accrue interest which has been about 5% for few years now. Not sure how it changes now with the COVID situation.

Regarding the MO side, I was somehow uneasy about doing money orders deposits.

In the walmart Billpay, I see my provider listed.

1. Does Walmart Bill pay allow taking a credit card for an insurance payment?
2. or it has to be only cash or Debit card ( Visa gift cards) ??
3. What would be fees associated with CC vs a debit card?

I have never used walmart Bill pay before and if you can suggest an approach, it's greatly appreciated.

radonc1

I have no experience with WMBP, but the following folks do on this thread

Billpay at Walmart (2018 onwards)

I am currently learning about it myself for planned future use, so reading the above will help you a lot. I will otherwise defer to those with more experience and knowledge.

FriscoHeavy

Paying a Term Life premium isn’t going to make a lick of difference to credit card point accumulation due to the premium being so low (generally).

Just pay it via check or ACH and be done.

By the way, it’s nearly always a little cheaper if you pay annually, instead of monthly, quarterly or semi-annually.

I have our premiums drafted annually from our checking account.

nvtech

So finally tired the WM bill pay and it worked out like charm. $1.50 fee per transaction. I am a 1st-time WM bill pay user. I pay upward of $6000/year for whole life for both me and wife along with Disability insurances. The saving could be nominal but I find it very useful. Definitely I could keep over funding my account whenever possible and accrue some interest.