Most mortgage servicers offer several ways to make your monthly payment: online, by automatic withdrawal, by phone, by mail, or in person. The method you choose affects how quickly your payment posts, whether you pay any fees, and how much effort it takes each month. Here’s what you need to know about each option and how to make the most of your payments.
Online and Mobile Payments
Paying through your lender or loan servicer’s website is the fastest and most common method. You log into your account, enter your bank details or confirm saved payment information, and submit. The payment typically posts within one to two business days. Most servicers offer this at no extra charge, and many also have mobile apps that let you pay from your phone.
If you’re not sure who your servicer is (it may differ from the company that originally gave you the loan), check your most recent mortgage statement. The servicer’s name, website, and contact number will be listed there.
Automatic Withdrawals
Setting up autopay means your servicer pulls the payment directly from your checking or savings account on a set date each month. You choose the date, link your bank account, and the process runs without any action from you. This is the single best way to avoid late payments, especially if you tend to forget due dates.
Some servicers offer a small interest rate discount (often 0.25%) for enrolling in autopay. Check your servicer’s website or call to ask. Just make sure you always have enough in the linked account to cover the withdrawal. A failed autopay attempt can result in a returned payment fee from your bank and potentially a late payment on your mortgage.
Phone Payments
You can call your servicer and make a payment over the phone using your bank account information. This works well as a backup if you’re having trouble with the website or need to make a same-day payment. However, some servicers charge a convenience fee for phone payments, so ask about fees before you proceed.
Mail and In-Person Payments
Mailing a check or money order to your servicer still works, but you need to account for delivery time. A payment mailed a few days before the due date could arrive late, especially around holidays. Most mortgages include a grace period of about 15 days after the due date before a late fee kicks in, but relying on that cushion every month is risky. Always use the payment coupon from your statement and mail it to the address specified for payments, which may differ from the servicer’s general mailing address.
If your servicer has local branches, you may be able to pay in person with a check or money order. This gives you the advantage of immediate confirmation, but it’s the least convenient option for most people.
Paying by Credit Card
Most mortgage servicers do not accept credit card payments directly. The processing fees are too high for lenders to absorb. If you want to use a credit card anyway, typically to earn rewards points, third-party services like Plastiq can facilitate the payment. Plastiq accepts Discover and Mastercard (not Visa or American Express for mortgage payments) and charges a fee of 2.99% of your payment amount each time.
On a $2,000 monthly mortgage payment, that fee comes to about $60. Unless you’re earning significant credit card rewards or chasing a sign-up bonus, the math rarely works in your favor. A few niche products, like the Bilt credit card and the Made card, are designed to let you earn rewards on rent or mortgage payments without a transaction fee, though each comes with its own terms and limitations worth reviewing.
How to Make Extra Payments Toward Principal
If you want to pay off your mortgage faster and reduce the total interest you pay over the life of the loan, you can make additional payments directed specifically at your principal balance. The key detail: you must tell your servicer that the extra money should go toward principal. If you don’t specify, the servicer may apply it to your next month’s regular payment, which includes interest, or hold it in a suspense account.
Here’s how to do it through each channel:
- Online: Log into your account and look for an option labeled “additional payment” or “principal-only payment.” Select it, enter the amount, and confirm.
- By phone: Call your servicer, have your account number ready, and explicitly say you want the extra amount applied to principal. Ask for written confirmation.
- By mail: Your paper statement usually includes a line where you can write in an additional principal payment amount. Include a note specifying “apply to principal” and keep a copy for your records.
- In person: Visit a branch and tell the representative you want the payment applied to principal. Get a receipt.
Even small extra payments add up. An extra $100 per month on a 30-year loan at 7% with a $300,000 balance can shave several years off the loan and save tens of thousands in interest.
Biweekly Payments
Instead of paying once a month, a biweekly schedule means you pay half your mortgage amount every two weeks. Because there are 52 weeks in a year, this results in 26 half-payments, or the equivalent of 13 full monthly payments instead of 12. That extra payment each year goes toward your principal and can cut years off a 30-year mortgage.
Before switching to this schedule, contact your servicer to confirm they accept biweekly payments and to verify that the extra amount will be applied to principal. Get that confirmation in writing. Some servicers handle biweekly payments natively, while others simply hold the half-payments until a full payment accumulates, which defeats the purpose. If your servicer doesn’t support true biweekly processing, you can achieve the same result by dividing your monthly payment by 12 and adding that amount to each regular payment as extra principal.
What to Do If You Can’t Make a Payment
If you’re struggling to make your mortgage payment, contact your servicer as early as possible. Waiting until you’ve already missed payments limits your options. Servicers are required to discuss loss mitigation options with you, which may include:
- Forbearance: A temporary pause or reduction in payments, usually for a set number of months. You still owe the skipped amounts, but it buys time.
- Loan modification: A permanent change to your loan terms, such as a lower interest rate, extended repayment period, or reduced principal, to make payments more affordable.
- Repayment plan: A structured schedule to catch up on missed payments by spreading the overdue amount across future months.
The federal Homeowner Assistance Fund, created under the American Rescue Plan Act, allocated nearly $10 billion to help homeowners facing financial hardship. Programs vary by state and some are winding down, but assistance may still be available in your area. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau maintains a portal where you can search for homeowner assistance programs by location.
Keeping Track of Your Payments
Regardless of how you pay, keep records. Save confirmation numbers from online and phone payments. If you mail a check, use your bank’s bill pay service so you have a digital record of when the payment was sent. Review your monthly mortgage statement to confirm each payment was applied correctly, especially if you made extra principal payments. Errors happen, and catching them early is far easier than disputing them months later.