Signing up for paperless statements saves time, space, and trees; however, we cannot help but ask – is it completely worth it? Once you go paperless, your statements will not be delivered to your mailbox. Instead, you will be getting them in your email inbox.
Read along – we’ve prepared some pros and cons regarding converting yourself to an eStatement user.
What is an eStatement?
Every credit card issuer is required to send its users monthly billing statements detailing their financial information. For a long time, these have been delivered to you by mail; however, electronic automation has brought an easier option: eStatements, which are sent to your email inbox each month and are available as a PDF document.
For the convenience of users, some card issuers include the payment due date in the email body. If you are considering going paperless and want to transition from traditional statements, we also suggest considering the benefits and drawbacks of eStatement billing.
Pros: Retiring Your Filing Cabinet, Helping the Planet, Anti-Fraud, and More
There is no way to stress this enough: eStatements do vast amounts of good for our planet. According to the EPA, an average American uses the paper equivalent of a 100-foot-high Douglas fir yearly. The paper demand decreases significantly for each user who goes paperless; accordingly, several credit card issuers contribute to environmental causes each time a customer changes their preferred billing format.
Another very positive circumstance of electronic statements is the complete elimination of physical billing statements that clutter your home. Choosing this billing method allows you to easily sort out your bills, helping you determine what can be discarded or shredded and what should be kept.
Additionally, cardholders opting for paperless billing are typically offered incentives, while those preferring paper billing incur specific fees.
Additionally, very serious yet overlooked benefits of paperless billing include the prevention of identity theft fraud that can result from stolen mail. When you are getting your mail via the internet, you eliminate mail interception. Hacking does not cause significant damage either, as confidential information, such as credit card details, is not included in the issuer’s emails.
Cons: Potential Payment Missing, Remembering More Passwords, More Limited Access
A possible downside of paperless statements is the lack of a physical reminder to extend your funds, which can result in unpaid bills. To prevent forgetting the due date, you can set a reminder by printing the document and posting it in a visible spot; you are still helping to save the planet since the envelope and inserts are not used.
It is worth noting that only a limited number of previous statements are available online. In cases where additional documents are required for tax purposes, for example, extra steps and possible fees may be involved to obtain access to previous statements. You can still file your statements away and access them later.
A minor inconvenience, yet very common, comes with having to remember another username and password; each time you forget any of these, you will have to go through an information recovery process.
It is simple to conclude that Electronic Statement Billing has some drawbacks, such as the possibility of missing payments, but these are relatively easy to overcome in comparison to all the advantages it offers. Helping to reduce the carbon footprint and paper use, uncluttering, and raising safety levels are, in our opinion, the most effective approaches. We have our own eStatement process, as well as an ACH payment process – and we suggest you read more about them.
Last updated: October 2025