Creating and sticking to a budget is a can’t-go-wrong move for anyone. There are many apps available to help you create a budget. But one app is taking a different angle on budgeting. It’s called Prism and its only focus is on paying bills.
Yes - your bank lets you pay bills. So how is Prism different? It provides different functionality from the bill payment feature in your bank account.
In this article, we’ll show how Prism is different and why it might be worth trying out.
Quick Summary
- Free bill tracking and payment app
- View all upcoming bills on a calendar
- No option to set up recurring payments
Prism App Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | Prism App |
Cost | Free |
Supported Billers | 11,000+ |
Platform | iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 10 |
Promotions | None |
Who Is Prism?
Prism is a bill pay app owned by BillGO. It's legal name is Mobilligy, Inc. It was founded in 2011 in Bellevue, WA. by Steve Gordon and Tyler Griffin.
Prism has been acquired twice. In May 2016, PayNearMe (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Handle Financial Inc.) acquired Prism. Then, in October 2018, it was acquired by BillGO. The CEO of BillGO is Dan Holt.
What Do They Offer?
Prism is a fintech and a free mobile app that is focused on bill payments. Since most banks already offer bill pay, what is the advantage of using Prism? Bill pay features that are integrated with banks are usually limited to just sending out payments. It takes bill pay to another level and is meant to help people budget their income against bills.
Prism makes it easy to organize and stay on top of their bills, which could help you avoid late fees and improve your credit. Unlike most banking bill pay services, with Prism there is calendar that shows when all of your bills are due. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an Auto Pay feature, so each payment must be initiated manually.
Getting Started With Prism
To get started, you’ll first need to connect all of your billers to Prism. If you have used financial desktop or web apps, you’ll be familiar with this process.
Prism uses the same bank-grade encryption and token-based scheme to authenticate biller accounts. There are over 11,000 billers available that can connect directly to it. Available biller types include:
- Phone services
- Credit unions
- Electric utilities
- Cable companies
- Mortgage lenders
- Insurance providers
- Student loan lenders
- Water and waste utilities
- Various subscriptions types
If a biller isn’t listed, it can be manually added.
Once your added billers have been synced with Prism, balances, amounts due, and due dates will all display. You can use the calendar to see the next upcoming bills. Prism will also send notifications about due bills. Accounts automatically sync every morning but you can manually sync bills at any time.
Paying Bills
As mentioned earlier, Prism doesn’t have a recurring payment feature. For some people, this might be a negative. But it also means that you remain in full control of every payment. If the money is available to pay a bill, you can pay it immediately or schedule the payment.
Payments can be made from your bank account, debit, prepaid, or credit card. After sending a payment, you’ll have 10 minutes to cancel it. Once the 10 minutes have elapsed and the payment has been paid, it's no longer cancellable.
Customer Support
With any free app, something has to give. And Prism is no exception. You won't find any phone support with Prism. While they do have 24/7 support, it's only available through the Prism app or by email at info@prismmoney.com.
Are There Any Fees?
Prism is free to use. In fact, with Prism Payment Promise, you'll be reimbursed for any late fees (up to $1,000) that you incur if your payment doesn't arrive by the day that Prism indicates.
The only fee you might incur is a returned item fee of $15. This can happen if a payment is attempted but the funding source doesn't have enough money to cover it.
Wondering how Prism makes money? For now, it’s through receiving small fees from billers and sometimes charging a convenience fee for debit or credit card payments. But Prism also says that it hasn't ruled out charging a subscription fee in the future.
How Do I Open An Account?
You can visit https://www.prismmoney.com to download the app and create an account.
Is My Money Safe?
Yes - Prism uses bank-grade encryption and offers pin, biometric, and two-factor authenticity schemes in its app.
Is It Worth It?
The main idea behind Prism is that you can balance income against expenses and create a workable budget. If you want to see when every bill is due on a calendar and don't mind paying each bill manually, you'll probably like Prism. And since it's free to use, there's no risk in giving it a try!
If setting up recurring payments is a priority, however, you'll want to look for a different bill pay system. Your bank's bill pay may be the easiest solution. Or if you need advanced expense tracking and reporting, you may want to consider a paid software option like Quicken or Moneydance.
Prism App Features
Cost | Free |
Supported Billers | 11,000+ in the following billing categories:
|
Platform | iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 10 |
Late Fee Reimbursement | Yes, up to $1,000 lifetime maximum per user |
Returned Payment Fee | $15 |
Budgeting | Yes |
Auto Pay | No |
Payment Methods |
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Payment Cancellation Period | 10 Minutes |
Investment Tracking | No |
Two-Factor Authentication | Yes |
Biometric Authentication | Yes |
Data Encryption | Yes, 256-bit AES |
Phone Support | No |
Messaging Support | Yes |
Email Support | Yes at info@prismmoney.com |
Customer Service Hours | 24/7 availability |
Promotions | None |
Prism App Review
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Summary
With the Prism app, you can track and pay all of your bills in one place to help you stay on your track with your budgeting and savings goals.
Pros
- Free to use
- Thousands of supported billers
- Calendar view of upcoming bills
Cons
- No Auto Pay options
- No customer support phone number
- No Mac OS app available
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.