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)

As the chaos of the holiday season nears, remember that rental payments are not at the top of renter’s minds.  Between Thanksgiving and New Years people often spend beyond their means, procrastinate on monthly bills, or forget about payments in the midst of festivities.  Here are some tips to help your community retain on time rental payments:

1. Announce both normal and adjusted office hours.

Although you may always have office hours posted, announce the hours again because renters are not likely to have this schedule memorized and may not be able to visit during their normal time.  In addition, it is especially important to announce all adjusted holiday hours and to do so well in advance.

• Post office times on doors.  Adjusted holiday hours should have their own attention-grabbing signage.
• Update the community’s automated voice recording to announce any adjusted hours.

2. Remind renters of their electronic payment options.

The ability to pay online or by phone can be a saving grace to a renter who who has forgotten to pay rent.  Forgetfulness is especially common during this season with adjusted work schedules and holiday events.  Make sure that even renters who prefer paper checks know they have the option to pay electronically, just in case.  They may elect to use the service to avoid a late fee or if they need to make their payment quickly.

In addition, many residents travel during this time of the year.  With major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all falling near the beginning/end of the months, renters may need to pay on-the-go.  Residents can save postage and get their payment in instantly by paying online.

3. Gifts got you low on cash?  Pay rent with your Credit Card!

During this time of the year more than any other, people tend to find themselves low on cash.  Between gifts, events, meals and vacations, renters may find they have exhausted the funds in their checking account.

An excellent solution to this problem is the ability to pay rent with a credit card using RentPayment.  Even if there is a convenience fee at your community for paying with a credit card, it is usually a much better option than incurring a late fee.  Plus, it’s another opportunity to earn rewards points!

After months in development, the RentPayment Mobile iPhone application is here! The iPhone application is available for FREE to any renter with an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and allows renters who reside at any RentPayment community to:

• Set up a new account with RentPayment
• Login to an existing account
• Make a payment on-the-go using a credit card or eCheck
• View Payment History
• Setup AutoPayment

Just like with online payments, the RentPayment iPhone app is 100% secure, ensuring that all renter credit card data and personal information is safe. Please let your renters know this application is available for November rent and remind them that they have another flexible option for paying electronically.

View in iTunes App Store

Test the application out yourself to see first hand it’s features and functionality. Please also feel free to rate the application and leave your comments!To download the app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, just search “RentPayment” in the iTunes app store. Or, to download from the app store online: Click here.

RentPayment: The leader in mobile payments
RentPayment is truly the industry leader in mobile payments for today’s on-the-go renter. Our flexible payment options are not only appreciated by tech savvy renters but also by those who can be forgetful about paying rent and prefer recurring payments.

In addition, RentPayment is the only rent collection service with a channel to accept apartment payments via text message through RentByText™. RentPayment also allows renters to pay rent by phone using both IVR and live Client Care Representatives 24/7. In addition, the upcoming RentPayment iPhone application will provide yet another option to paying rent over the phone! RentPayment clients should use these amenities as leasing tools for apartment rentals, because you’re supplying and amenity your renters want!

Top 3 Reasons I Pay My Rent Electronically
BY LAUREN BOSTON

I’m 24 years old, and I learned how to write my first check last year.

This makes me sound like the spoiled daughter of a rich entrepreneur, but I’m actually the self-sufficient offspring of a high school teacher. I just pay for everything online—rent included.

We all know the operational benefits of electronic rent payments, but what’s in it for the renters? There will always be elderly, cautious or technologically challenged residents who insist on paying their rent in person, but for the majority of today’s residents, the more that can be done on the computer, the better.

Following are three reasons I pay my rent online:

1. I’m Losing My Mind. I have difficulty remembering to pack my lunch every day, so do you really think I can remember to pay my rent? Electronic payments are the best way for absent-minded renters to pay their bills on time, with most programs offering an automated withdrawal option. My bank account is linked to my resident portal, and money is transferred on the first of the month—an incredibly helpful option for someone who has racked up way too many late fees at the library. Now I can sit back, relax and rest assured my rent is paid on time. I just wish I could find my keys…

2. I’m Anti-Social After Work. The leasing office at my apartment community is nicely decorated and the employees are friendly, but it’s still not on my Top 10 list of favorite places. When I get home after work, I want to hibernate in my apartment until it’s time for bed, not trudge down to the leasing office to pay my rent and socialize with a pack of prospective residents. Not to be Mrs. Scrooge here, but I’ve just spent half an hour fighting for a seat on the bus home and I need some peace and quiet. If I can pay my rent from the comfort of my couch, sign me up. Bah, humbug!

3. I Live in a Fantasy World. If you paid top dollar for a Liberal Arts degree like yours truly, chances are you have a pretty meager salary, a good chunk of which is allocated to rent. I know having a roof over my head is one of those necessary expenses—just like the four bottles of nail polish I purchased this week—but it’s a big investment that I don’t want to think about any more than I have to. And because I’d prefer to live in a fantasy world, I want my rent to tip-toe out of my bank account automatically, without so much as a whisper. Writing out and delivering a check somehow seems much more real and depressing. Yes, I understand it’s still the same amount of money, but automated payments feel less painful. I was aware of the monetary sacrifice I’d have to make when I signed the lease; I don’t want to be reminded of it every month. Hey, ignorance is bliss.

Lauren Boston is NAA’s Staff Writer. For more of her blogs, check out www.naahq.org/blog. She can be reached at lauren@naahq.org or call (703) 797-0678.

“Going green,” seems to be the current trend for consumers and business owners to claim they are following. Despite the obvious perks for adopting more nature-friendly practices, many have their doubts of whether or not the costs of applying these practices outweigh the benefits. However, by switching to a paperless ePayment system you can dramatically cut down your carbon footprint while also increasing efficiency and convenience for your company.

Javelin Strategy and Research reported that if every American household viewed and paid bills online, solid waste could be reduced in U.S. landfills by more than 800,000 tons a year and save an estimated 18.5 million trees a year. According to The Federal Reserve, over 170 million pounds of greenhouse gases are used on printing checks and bills each year.  Take a moment to think about how each document not only uses the paper it was printed on but also the gas consumed by the mail carriers to deliver it to you and your renters.

Reducing the use of paper provides benefits beyond saving the environment when using a full service ePayment solution to keep track of all your books and payment history.  Without the endless amounts of paper books and bills adding up, you can save thousands of pieces of paper as well as increase your property’s efficiency and accuracy.  Online payment systems increase accuracy by reducing the risk of human error involved with manual entry and recordkeeping.

Offering ePayment services also saves your business money and time. Electronic payment lowers costs for businesses who spend money on postage and check processing. For example, according to RentPayment.com, an eCheck costs approximately $1 to process whereas a paper-check can cost anywhere from $6 to $12 to process. In addition, the processing time for an eCheck is only a few days whereas a paper check can take up to 2 weeks to clear. The American Forest and Paper Association reports that every ton of paper costs an office roughly $1000 and can add 3.3 cubic yards of waste to a landfill.

Paperless billing is catching on as consumers become more aware of the conveniences and environmental benefits of electronic billing and payment. Surveys have shown that users not only like helping the environment, but they also like the timeliness and practicality of ePayment. Renters enjoy the assurance of securing an always on time rent payment every month without having to worry about physically dropping off a check.  Debit and credit cards are also processed by these same services. This is another benefit for the renter and helps ensure they can always make their rent payment. Renters also avoid being charged late fees while the property managers enjoy the guarantee of receiving rent every month with an automated withdrawal from bank accounts.

The Nature Conservancy sites that half of the world’s original forests are gone and each year 36 million more acres of deforestation are added to that list.  In one 24 hour period, one tree can provide oxygen for up to four people and discharge up to 100 gallons of water from the ground into the air. It’s critical that we preserve our trees to maintain our planet’s livelihood.

“Obviously, businesses and consumers won’t ever stop needing paper, but technology is helping make an impact to reduce unnecessary paper usage and waste. Electronic bill payment is a key element in that quest,” said Kevin Sander, director of corporate partnerships at the National Arbor Day Foundation

Finally, there is a way to save your property from superfluous costs and decrease unnecessary stress for you and your renters while also giving Mother Nature a much needed break too. It’s a win-win situation. Let’s all do our best to save the environment while saving our businesses money by switching to ePayment services today.

About Author:
Krista Norsworthy is a recent print journalism graduate from the Walter Cronkite School at Arizona State University and currently working as marketing intern at RentPayment.com in San Francisco.

Retailers and businesses know that allowing consumers to delay payment can dramatically increase their willingness to buy. National retailers such as Best Buy even have their own in-house credit card to entice users to buy their products now and pay at a later time. So why isn’t this principle applied to the multifamily industry?

Comparing the psychological purchasing behavior of buying a new television with that of where to rent is more similar than you may think. If a renter was standing at an intersection and there were two apartment communities with very similar amenities and price points, but one apartment community accepted credit cards while the other did not, then the willingness of a renter to make an immediate decision is obvious – go with the one that accepts credit cards.

The benefits of an apartment community accepting credit cards are noticeably clear; renters can move into an apartment immediately rather than waiting to save for the deposit, renters can earn airline miles which can we redeemed for traveling expenses, and best of all renters can easily make their payment online or via mobile phone – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Another principle to understand is the “mental accounting” that affects decision making. When renters pay with a paper check, which is directly withdrawn from their bank account, they associate that payment negatively, as can be proven when asking any renter if they like paying rent. Now compare that with a renter who paid by credit card who is earning airline miles and managing their money more efficiently. The time value of money comes into play which makes future payments less costly than immediate ones. Now all of a sudden they like paying their rent by credit card and the benefits that accompany it.

An additional behavioral targeting technique that is used by the most savvy property management firms is the ability to harness the power of the “default option.” The evidence is overwhelming that presenting one option as a default increases the chance it will be chosen. If you are not already accepting e-payments via credit cards and e-checks then you are far behind your competition. If you are already accepting e-payments then instead of just accepting “all forms of payment,” make the default option credit card or e-check and watch the results. Many innovative property managers are taking this one step further and requiring residents to pay their rent electronically by inking it into the lease terms on the rental agreement. Renters don’t need tons of options, and when given something by default, it becomes more valuable than just another option.

Technology is creating new opportunities that benefit both renters and property management firms. When behavioral economics is applied to electronic rent collection, the results are astounding. Employing the techniques mentioned above can produce operating efficiencies and administrative cost savings that directly benefit your bottom line. It’s a lot easier than it sounds, so get started today before your competitors do!