For many of us (Generation X and older) the personal check as a payment method is something we grew up in managing our finances (“balancing our checkbook”). Despite the convenience of managing our finances online between bill payment (direct biller websites and online bank bill pay services) and personal finance tools (like Mint.com) checks are still necessary for most charitable contributions or paying for maintenance work at our primary residence (mowing, snow shoveling, pest control). In addition, there are those few renters that still haven’t signed up for RentPayment that may be living in the dark ages of paying their rent with a check as well.

In contrast, Generation Y who represents the greatest influx of new renters (particularly when unemployment goes down and they FINALLY move out of their parents’ house) has probably never owned, let alone carried a checkbook. That means that minus a special trip to 7 Eleven or the post office for a money order, the fastest-growing demographic of renters will not have a way to pay rent unless properties embrace electronic payments. The necessity of offering renters the ability to pay by mobile technology (RentByText, iPhone app, mobile-optimized version of payment screens) is driven by the way they communicate in their day-to-day lives. In addition, renters who have paid with a credit card or E-check in the past are shifting to using mobile devices and away from a desktop computer connected to the Internet.

Electronic payment acceptance is no longer a differentiating amenity for property management firms. Mobile payment options for rent and communicating with renters by text and email received on smartphones is the future for properties to efficiently collect rent and minimize delinquencies.
-Matt Golis – CEO and Founder, RentPayment (a YapStone company)

Matt Golis – CEO and Founder, RentPayment (a YapStone company)
With so many changes happening in the payments industry, I thought it would be appropriate to begin a regular blog on topics that address where payment services delivered on the Web can benefit vertical markets like multifamily and other bill payment-related industries.

Delivering electronic payments-as-a-service (ePaaS) has been a solution that more of our clients are seeking as a way to offer more choices to renters paying online. With the variability in cost associated with credit/debit cards, ACH/E-check, scanned items and other emerging payment methods, property managers regularly express concern with transaction fees attributed to increasing adoption by renters. After pioneering online rental payments back in 1999, this migration to offering a complete payment service has made bundling more technology (as opposed to simply card or ACH acceptance) the next logical step in this evolution away from check acceptance on-site. With a flat bundled service, properties have the freedom of promoting electronic payments to renters since the incremental cost per transaction is eliminated. This provides certainty around the costs of offering this critical amenity, while saving money in reconciliation, posting, and depositing payments through a complete Web-based reporting and batch reconciliation service.

To provide the convenience of accessing a payment service from the renter standpoint, offering the most mobile-enabled options has proven vital to adoption. RentByText, iPhone apps, and other smartphone-enabled RentPayment interfaces are what Generation Y uses as their primary communication tool. As popular as the Apple iPhone has been, renters using an Android phone for paying rent are the fastest growing segment in the past quarter. Delivering more value in both the mobile and desktop computing channels will be a top priority as RentPayment continues to innovate and deliver technology value to property management clients.