dbeard@dominionpost.com
MORGANTOWN – Some FirstEnergy customers will see a new small fee when they pay their bills online. Others will see a decrease in an accustomed fee.
This stems from FirstEnergy moving to a third-party electronic payment processor, ACI Speedpay, to handle online payments.
In West Virginia, this applies to customers of FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison.
The transition began this past May, FirstEnergy said, when it began using ACI Speedpay for some electronic payment methods, including debit and credit cards.
FirstEnergy will begin processing all electronic payment methods through ACI Speedpay in January.
Residential customers who make one-time credit or debit card payments will see fees decrease from $4.75 per transaction to $2.75 per transaction, FirstEnergy said.
Residential and commercial customers paying with a bank account (ACH) will see a new fee of 50 cents per one-time payment transaction. The fee is charged by ACI.
“We will continue to work to balance service fees charged by third-party vendors with our customers’ payment preferences,” FirstEnergy said.
Asked about the reasoning behind the transition, FirstEnergy said, “Vendors like ACI that specialize in electronic payments have the necessary expertise in banking and credit card compliance and continue to expand their payment capabilities, including PayPal and Venmo. By processing electronic payments through a third-party vendor, we can more seamlessly maintain compliance and better serve our customers by continuing to offer additional payment options.”
FirstEnergy noted that while it will now accept payment through PayPal and Venmo, it will no longer be able to process payments via text or by Boost.
Customers can also continue to mail in a check or pay by phone.
After the transition, FirstEnergy said, customers will need to provide their bank account details for payment. They can also choose to save their payment details for faster future payments, as they do today.
Customers who wish to avoid fees can enroll in automatic payments through FirstEnergy’s free AutoPay Bank Account program. Customers currently on auto pay will be automatically transitioned.
Asked about customers facing financial hardship, FirstEnergy said, “We understand there are many reasons customers may be struggling with home energy costs, and we’re here to help. We encourage customers experiencing financial hardship to contact us to see if they qualify for an assistance program or payment arrangement.”
Customers can learn more and search for available programs in their area at firstenergycorp.com/billassist.
