Fast Offerings-can i pay members bills online?

I had a family getting help submit a car insurance bill that bishop approved us to pay. Problem is policy is cancelled if payment is not recieved by midnight.

Is there a way for the ward to pay through their online portal?

Could a member pay and then I reimburse the member under fast Offerings but have the recipient be the one receiving the help?

BGomer wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2026 10:05 am Is there a way for the ward to pay through their online portal?

Not in the United States. Other areas of the world may be able to do this - such as in the EU.

BGomer wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2026 10:05 amCould a member pay and then I reimburse the member under fast Offerings but have the recipient be the one receiving the help?

Yes. For this situation normally unit leaders (bishopric, EQ president, RS president) make the payments for these situations. The bishop can authorize another willing and financially capable member to make the payment. The CUBS system will accept/permit this payment method. Our ward has done this after discussing it with the stake audit committee president (stake presidency councilor).

Just note this should not be a routine method of making FO assistance payments. See the Help Center article Paying Expenses of Ward Members.

I believe it's generally preferred to provide from the Bishop's storehouse or pay other bills so the member can cover their own expenses.

Second, I would council with the bishop to avoid letting a member's lack of planning become your emergency. They no doubt knew this bill was coming due some time ago.

I'm sure there's a post here somewhere about a ward that set down a timeline for cutting checks. Once the word got out that members couldn't expect to get a check immediately any day of the week, there wasn't anymore emergencies.

Thank you both for your help, we did end up having a member make the payment and then we reimbursed that member.

Bishop did speak with the family about avoiding waiting so long, they didn't want to ask for help, kept trying to work it out themselves, great people and glad we worked it out.

Some online payment systems will save debit/credit card details to the payment account of the member receiving help. If a ward leader pays, make sure their card isn't accidentally saved for future payments.