Ways to Pay
A convenient way to pay your student loan bill is with Direct Debit.
Apply for Direct Debit. Once approved, you may even qualify for an interest rate reduction.
Direct Debit
Direct Debit sets up an electronic deduction from your checking or savings account. Depending on your lender, you may qualify for a Direct Debit schedule of monthly, bi-weekly, or even during times of interest, check Account Access to see what your options are today.
Benefits of Direct Debit
- Direct Debit is a convenient, effortless way to make your student loan payments.
- You may qualify for an interest rate reduction while actively making payments on Direct Debit.
- Since your loan payment happens automatically, it's never late so long as funds are available.
- You can pay extra and provide us with instructions on how to allocate the extra funds.
Important: Continue making payments through another method until you receive confirmation that Direct Debit will extract your next payment.
Payment Timeline
A Direct Debit payment credits to your account on the day the payment is due, even if the date is a weekend or holiday. It generally posts to your account within 2 business days of the due date. Your payment may appear as "In Process" in Account Access for a few days while it is pending application.
Paying specific loans:
With Direct Debit there is no need for Standing Payment Instructions* as your additional amount will be allocated by you upon set up. However, if you would like to set up Direct Debit while also making payments through other methods then you can set up Standing Payment Instructions for over or under payments in Account Access. Paying extra may place your loan in to paid ahead status.
Make Changes Online
Through Account Access, your online account management tool, we make it easy for you to modify your Direct Debit service. In Account Access you can:
- Change your bank account information
- Update and target extra funds to specific loans
- Add a loan not covered by your existing Direct Debit Agreement
- Suspend your Direct Debit service
- Cancel your Direct Debit service
| Loans in Default? |
|---|
|
If your loans are currently in default and you'd like to sign up for Direct Debit, please complete, sign, and submit the Direct Debit Default Collections Agreement (PDF) and retain a completed copy for your records. |
Pay Online
Benefits of Paying Online
- Make payments anytime, day or night
- Schedule payments in advance
- Save your bank accounts for future payments
- Pay using any of your saved bank accounts
- Target extra payments to specific loans
How to Get Started
| Step 1 | Sign in to Account Access. |
|---|---|
| Step 2 | Click "Make a Payment." |
| Step 3 | Enter payment information—you can save your bank account for future use. |
| Step 4 | Hit the "Make a Payment" button and relax for another month. |
Keep in Mind
This is a one-time payment. To set up automatic monthly payments, sign up for Direct Debit.
Payment Timeline
You can select any day for an online payment. Online payments made up until 11:59 PM (ET) will be credited as effective the same day. Your payment may be withdrawn from your bank account the same day or a subsequent day. Your payment may appear as "In Process" in Account Access for a few days while it is pending application.
Paying specific loans: You have the option to target payments to specific loans for each payment you make by selecting the “Target Specific Loans” tab when making a payment. Additionally, if you would like to set up Standing Payment Instructions for future under or over payments you can do so by signing in to Account Access. Paying extra may place your loans into paid ahead status.
Have Questions?
Visit the Online Payments FAQ.
Pay by Mobile App
Benefits of Paying by Mobile App
- Make payments anytime while on the go
- Target extra funds to specific loans
- Have your bank routing number and account number ready in order to set up an electronic payment.
- Save your bank accounts for future payments or pay using any of your saved bank accounts.
How to Get Started
| Step 1 | Download our mobile app at:
|
|---|---|
| Step 2 | Sign in using your username and password. |
| Step 3 | Tap the "Payment" button. |
| Step 4 | Enter or choose your payment information. |
Payment Timeline
Any payment you make using our mobile app is effective the day you submit the payment up until 11:59 PM (ET).Your payment may be withdrawn from your bank account the same day or a subsequent day. These payments typically post to your account within 2 business days of that date. Your payment may appear as "In Process" in Account Access for a few days while it is pending application.
Paying specific loans: You have the option to target payments to specific loans for each payment you make by selecting the “Target Specific Loans” tab when making a payment. Additionally, if you would like to set up Standing Payment Instructions for future under or over payments you can do so by signing in to Account Access. Paying extra may place your loans into paid ahead status.
Pay by Phone
- Call 1-800-233-0557 to make payments anytime, day or night.
- Schedule payments in advance.
- Have your 10-digit AES account number and date of birth on-hand for identification purposes.
- Have your bank routing number and account number ready to set up an electronic payment.
- Save your bank account information for future payments or pay using any of your saved bank accounts.
Where can I find my account number?
Keep in Mind
Your phone payment is spread automatically among all loans on your account. For more details on how these payments are applied, please review our payment application examples. If you wish to target specific payment amounts to each loan, make an online payment instead.
Payment Timeline
You can select any day for a phone payment. Phone payments made up until 11:59 PM (ET) will obtain the same day effective date; however, payments made after roughly 3:30 PM (ET) will not be sent to the bank until the following day for processing. Payments typically post to your account within 2 business days of the effective date you select. Your payment may appear as "In Process" in Account Access for a few days while it is pending application.
Paying specific loans: You have the option to target payments to specific loans, if you would like to do so, we suggest paying online or through the mobile application. Additionally, if you would like to set up Standing Payment Instructions for future under or over payments you can do so by signing in to Account Access. Paying extra may place your loans into paid ahead status.
By U.S. Mail
Make your check or money order payable to American Education Services and mail to:
American Education Services
P.O. Box 65093
Baltimore, MD 21264-5093
Be sure to include your AES account number on your check. If you are a co-signer or endorser, please include your AES account number. Only send payments to this address. Send any other correspondence to our correspondence address.
Keep in Mind
- Send your written instructions to us at our correspondence address:
American Education Services
P.O. Box 2461
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2461 - Do not secure your check or money order to other documents with staples, paperclips, or similar. You should include your account number on your check or money order.
Payment Timeline
We recommend mailing your payment at least 7 to 10 business days before your due date to ensure we receive it on time. These payments are effective on the date we receive them, up to 11:59 PM (ET). Mailed payments are typically posted to your account within 2 business days of the date received. Your payment may appear as "In Process" in Account Access for a few days while it is pending application.
Paying specific loans: You have the option to target payments to specific loans, if you would like to do so, we suggest paying online or through the mobile application. Additionally, if you would like to set up Standing Payment Instructions for future under or over payments you can do so by signing in to Account Access, Paying extra may place your loans into paid ahead status.
Pay by Third Party Bill-Pay Services
If you use a bill-pay service or pay through your bank, be sure that they have our correct address so that your payment is sent to the right place.
Also keep the following information in mind:
- As your servicer, we don’t have the ability to offer any interest rate reductions or incentives for automatic payments set up through a third party. You may want to enroll in Direct Debit, our automatic payment program; your lender may offer an incentive. Contact us for details.
- Please enter your AES account number fully and accurately to your bill payer or bank website to ensure timely application to your account.
- If your bill-pay service mails us a payment, it will be effective the date we receive it, or the date provided by the billpayer service. If you have questions about whether or not a third party service mailed a payment to us, you should contact them for details.
- Your bill payer may not include any additional instructions or text when they submit your payment, such as in the "memo" text. If you have specific instructions about how we should apply a payment we suggest using the online payment method or if you would like to set up Standing Payment Instructions for future under or over payments, you can do so by signing in to Account Access.
- Refunds may be returned directly to the bill payer service.
Payment Timeline
The payment will be effective the date we receive it or the date provided by your bill-payer service. If your bill pay payment is sent via check, we recommend mailing your payment at least 7 to 10 business days before your due date to ensure that we receive it on time. These payments typically post to your account within 2 business days of that date. Your payment may appear as "In Process" in Account Access for a few days while it is pending application.
Set Up Advance Payments
Through Account Access and by phone you can schedule your payments into the future. Each month, you can schedule a maximum of eight payments up to 180 days in the future. You have the flexibility to set up your payments when you know you'll have funds available.
The option to set up advance payments may be particularly useful if you want to make multiple payments in a given month, or if you prefer to check in on your loans less frequently.
