Follow these steps to help ensure credit card payments arrive on time.

It's human nature. People sometimes wait until the last minute to mail their credit card payments. But with many card issuers--including MBNA, which issues the American Dental Assistants Association credit card--a customer who fails to pay on time can incur a late fee and, perhaps, end up with a higher interest rate.

MBNA picks up payments at the post office once an hour on the hour. Any payment received by 10 a.m. that was mailed in MBNA's remittance envelope, includes a remittance slip, and is drawn on U.S. currency, is posted to the customer's account that day. At MBNA, a customer incurs a late charge only if the payment is not posted by the day after the due date, so a payment that meets the above criteria and arrives at any time on the due date will be considered on time.

MBNA consistently meets its payment processing standards, and if the company ever were to fall behind, it would backdate the payments in question to reflect the actual date they were received. Customers, however, bear much of the responsibility for ensuring their payments are received and posted by the due date. Here are a few steps cardholders can take to ensure their payments are received on time:

Send payments at least five to seven days before the due date. This is the best way to ensure a payment does not arrive late.

Use the remittance envelope and payment stub that MBNA provides. The remittance slip, which the customer tears off the top of the billing statement, features a special bar code that shows through the window of the remittance envelope and enables the Postal Service to expedite delivery. MBNA uses high speed machines designed to open these specific envelopes, and the remittance slip contains account-specific information that enables MBNA to process the payment using highspeed imaging equipment. An effective safeguard is to write the full 16-digit account number on the memo line of the check, just in case it's separated from the remittance slip.

If necessary, adjust the due date. If the payment due date is inconvenient, the customer can call MBNA's Customer Satisfaction department and change it to a different time of the month. The change will take effect in one of the next two billing cycles.

Allow extra mailing time for "white mail." There are times when customers need to use their own envelopes. It takes longer, however, for these payments to be posted to customers' accounts. This so-called "white mail" moves more slowly through the postal system, and the MBNA machines that open these payments operate at a much slower speed to accommodate the variations in envelope size.

With white mail, it's important to use the appropriate MBNA post office box. For up-to-date accounts, use MBNA America, P.O. Box 15019, Wilmington, DE 19850-5019.

Do not use staples, tape, or paper clips to attach the check to the remittance slip. Envelopes that contain such items must be rerouted for special handling, and those payments therefore take longer to be credited.

Do not send cash. When MBNA's machines detect cash, the envelopes are sent to a secure unit for special handling, adding another day to the process of crediting the account.

When necessary, use alternate delivery methods. Customers who forget to mail their payments until just before the due date can send them through an overnight service such as Federal Express, by wire transfer, or via Western Union. MBNA's customer service representatives can provide more information about using these payment options.

Website teaches students about using credit responsibly

ADAA members who are in college or have college-age children may be interested to know about an educational resource MBNA has established on the World Wide Web. To help people successfully handle their credit card accounts and manage their finances, the issuer of the ADAA credit card has created a website that offers practical suggestions and budgeting tools for young adults.

Entitled Money Matters for Students and located at www.smartcredittips.com, the interactive site is also accessible through direct links on all MBNA student Internet applications as well as MBNA's corporate website, www.mbna.com.

Money Matters for Students discusses the importance of establishing a good credit history, offers advice on choosing and applying for a credit card, and explains how to keep debts manageable, among other topics. It also contains a worksheet students can use to plan a budget for each semester and features links to other credit-related sites for college students.

In addition to www.smartcredittips.com, interested consumers may also want to visit www.rankit.com sponsored by Visa USA; www.credittalk.com sponsored by MasterCard International; and www.pueblo.gsa.gov, the U.S. Consumer Information Center website.