Automated Rent Payment

Renters view automated rent payment options as a benefit. Online payment processing and electronic check conversions are a couple of options that accelerate rent payment. With online payments, residents sign in to the hosted site of the property and set up their bank checking account or credit card account. Electronic check conversions have been used at grocery and department stores for some time but are new to the multifamily industry. It involves the use of electronic check readers at the point of sale. The resident brings a check to the leasing office, and the leasing staff runs the check through the check reader. The check is read and automatically truncated, which means it is scanned and converted into an electronic version that can be legally used for payment fulfillment.

There are costs to consider when evaluating either of these two methods. There is an initial setup fee and access fees for the Web-based service. For online payments, one can expect that, on average, there will be a $0.30 per check fee for automated clearing house processing. If the property has high-speed connectivity and has the necessary equipment for the Web-based applications, the cost for implementing an online payment program is minimal.

The resident benefits of an online payment program include:

• Option of paying rent online
• No late fees
• The ability to set up automated bill pay though a checking account
• Parents or relatives can submit rent payments on a resident’s behalf
• The option to have rent deducted bi-weekly

Benefits for the real estate manager include:

• Streamlined rent collection process
• Faster availability of funds
• Improvement of float
• Automated data entry into the property management system
• Elimination of daily trips to the bank
• Early notification of NSF