Could Adding Online Payment Encourage Renters to Pay?

We live in an online-connected world where a great deal of business is conducted on the Internet. For many of us, our primary method of pay is through PayPal and other similar institutions. It’s all about availability and convenience. Adding a payment method to your website could encourage renters to pay timely as well as more frequently for several reasons. How can this addition be beneficial to your business practices?

1. Convenience – Sometimes laziness will play into a renter’s decision to pay on time. For some, it is easier to visit a website and use a debit or credit card to pay the month’s rent than it would be to send in a check or walk in with a handful of cash. For those renters that work online, PayPal may be the primary method of pay. Having a system that can accept credit and debit cards only adds to the functionality of your organization. It gives the renters more choices as to how to pay you from the comfort of the home while they sit at the desk in their pajamas.

2. Immediate Access – For those who pay using PayPal accounts or plastic, you have access to the funds immediately. If you have a PayPal debit card in your possession, you can essentially use the money as soon as the renter pays. There is no waiting – unless the renter uses an e-check. Checks will still take a few days to process, but the use of these is very few and far between on average.

3. Easy to Implement – PayPal allows users to set up payment buttons in a variety of ways. You can detail the transaction to request address information and a default description that shows on your renter’s credit statements. Once you set up your button, you are provided with a code that you can copy-and-paste right into your website. Once you have it displayed on your page, simply inform your renters that they can pay online.

4. Linked to Your Bank – In order to use PayPal, it must be linked to your bank account. This is not only used for verification purposes to prove you are who you say you are, it is another method to retrieve your money. While it does take three to five business days to move the money from the system to your bank, it is an option that is provided to you for free.

5. Keep Your Business Separate – Since the PayPal debit card is a MasterCard, you can use the money at any location that accepts such. This allows you to keep your rental business cash separate from personal expenses. For instance, you could have your PayPal debit card used for property repairs and upgrades only while leaving your bank accounts to handle other business transactions. Depending on how many renters you have and the way they pay, you could develop a decent sum of money in the online institution.

Whether you use PayPal or not is perhaps irrelevant. What you should consider is a method that will allow your renters to pay using online methods. Even the small business could greatly benefit from having a free button installed on the website to process payments. If you have a website, do you allow your renters to pay you using credit and debit cards?

Charlesgate Property Management allows landlords to collect payments online. Want to find out more? Contact us!

Ken Myers is a father, husband, and entrepreneur. He has combined his passion for helping families find in-home care with his experience to build a business. Learn more about him by visiting @KenneyMyers on Twitter.