The Internet gives us the power to enjoy immediate full-color images and hear rich stereophonic sound, and to instantly respond and interact with this data. With the power offered by all this technology, we can not only enjoy more information, but also be more selective in the information we want to see. At Edgar County Bank, we want to be where you are, so our new online service offers access to your accounts:

• 24 hours a day
• any day of the week
• from your home or office, or from any computer that has Internet access

eCom Online Banking is just one more example of using the Internet for your convenience.

ECBT has created online financial services that allow you to use your personal computer to perform financial tasks. All you need to use eCom Online Banking is a personal computer, a modem, and access to the Internet.

Pay Bills Online

Using your computer to conduct simple banking tasks such as checking balances, reviewing transactions, and transferring funds offers more access to your financial information 24 hours a day. Using a computer to pay your bills online provides even more convenience. The tasks of writing checks by hand, addressing envelopes, affixing postage, and dropping payments in the mail can be replaced by entering a few commands into your computer. Welcome to ECBT's Online Bill Payer.

Edgar County Bank offers a robust and easy-to-use online bill payment service. Before we jump in and take a look at the bill payment process, a few definitions are in order:

• Payees - A payee is anyone to whom you would pay a bill or send a check. The most common payees include utility companies, credit card companies, your landlord, mortgage company, and department stores. Payees also can include individuals such as the person who delivers your newspaper, the local grocery store, and your favorite charitable organization. With few exceptions, you can pay just about anyone.
• Due date -The due date is the day your payment must be received by the payee, not including your grace period. The due date is usually located on the bill you receive in the mail from the payee.
• Scheduled date -The scheduled date is the day you would like Edgar County Bank to start the process of sending your money to the payee. Scheduled dates can only be days the bank is open for business.
• Bill pay guarantee - If you schedule a payment five business days before the due date (10 days for the first time you make a payment to a payee) and you incur a late fee or penalty, Edgar County Bank will reimburse you up to $50 of penalties actually incurred. If necessary, we will work with you and your payee to resolve any other issues associated with a delayed payment. Please refer to the ECBT Online service agreement for complete terms and details.

Build Your List Of Payees

You can build and maintain your list of payees by logging into com Online Banking and selecting the Bill Payer button, you can view payment schedules, setup a new payment, view payees, view payment history, handle account management functions, view account listings, and manage bill payment options.

To pay your bills online, you have to provide ECBT with certain basic information about your payee and your relationship with the payee. These items include the following information:

• the payee name
• the payee's address
• the payee's telephone number
• your account number with the payee
• an expense description

You only have to enter the payee information once.

It's a good idea to occasionally review your payee information when making payments. From time to time, payees change the address where they would like the payments to go and, in some rare instances, a payee can modify or change your account number.

Making Payments

Once your payee data is entered, making payments is simple. All payments are scheduled from the Personal Payment Schedule screen.

First, select the payee from the payee listing, enter the scheduled date, and, of course, the amount of the payment. The next option is to select and enter a category describing the payment such as mortgage payment or utilities. The category will be stored for review in future reports.

Recurring Payments

Bill Pay will serve your needs for single and recurring payments. Recurring payments are payments in which you send the same amount to the same payee several times over a period of time. For example, if you just signed up for a health club membership, you could schedule your monthly dues to be paid on the same day each month over the term of your membership.

On the Bill Pay screen, you can set the frequency of payments and indicate the date you would like the payments to stop.

The last field on the Bill Pay screen is the category. Categories help you evaluate where your money goes. By adding a category to each Bill Pay transaction, you will be able view this in reports and evaluate how much money you spend on expenses such as utilities, contributions, health care, automobile expenses, etc.

Sending the Payment

Once the payment process begins, the payment will take one of two paths to the payee. If the payee is a large company, chances are the payment will be sent electronically.

Companies that receive a large volume of online banking payments each month have invested in computer systems capable of receiving and processing payments electronically. These payments are nothing more than an electronic funds transfer with Edgar County Bank fulfilling the request on your behalf. The remaining payments are printed onto checks, placed into envelopes, and mailed to the payee on your behalf.

Your bank statement will list all Bill Payer transactions. The statement will show the amount, post date, transaction date, and description.

Once scheduled, a payment can be modified or canceled up until its scheduled date.

Let's Get Started

Because we are all creatures of habit, it is natural to feel some reluctance to begin making payments. One way to get comfortable with online banking is to send a payment to yourself. You'll see what the check looks like, see that all the pertinent information the payee needs is on the check, such as your name, address, and account number.

If you have any questions about Bill Payer, you can contact an ECBT Customer Service Representative by calling (217) 465-4154.

Pricing:

• Personal Accounts
  Free! No Setup or Monthly Fees
• Personal Online Bill Pay
  First 60 days free; $5.95 per month for up to 10 bill pay, and 35¢ for each additional transaction.
• Members of Ultimate Checking or Ban Club
  First 60 days free; $5.95 per month for up to 10 bill pay, and 35¢ for each additional transaction.
• Enrollment
  Just follow three easy steps:
1. Fill in the online banking sign-in form or
   Request a form be sent via US Mail
   Request a form be sent via FAX
2. Complete the form and return it to customer service by dropping it off at any Edgar County Bank branch or
   Mail it into customer service: 177 W. Wood Street, Paris, IL 61944.
3. Within 48 hours your Online Banking Representative will email you with enough information to start online account access. Online Bill Pay requires 10 days for set-up.