The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to rethink what “normal day-to-day activity” means, and adjust accordingly, including the ways they pay. One impact on society has been an accelerated shift to online payments in many industries, including the property management space.

Property management is a unique industry, where many tenants have traditionally used paper checks, cash and money orders to pay their monthly rent. But since COVID-19 when many residents found themselves quarantined in their homes, tenants were asking for more electronic options to make their rent or HOA/COA payments. A large number of property managers therefore transitioned to accepting online rent payments in an effort to provide convenience to residents as well as limit their in-person exposure related to handling physical checks or other forms of in person payments.

This presents property management software companies with a great opportunity to add integrated payments to their platforms if they haven’t already done so yet. Integrated payments can help software platforms scale while bringing efficiency to both property managers and tenants. The shift from physical to digital payments for rent looks set to be a permanent one; while COVID-19 may have been the catalyst, it is these benefits that mean landlords and tenants are unlikely to revert back to in-person payments.

With this ever-changing landscape and the increase in online rental payments happening already, now is a great time for property management software companies to prioritize adding payments to their platform. So let’s dive into what integrated payments can do for your software, property managers and tenants.

1. Recurring billing streamlines the payment process

One of the major benefits of integrated payments is recurring billing. Tenants can easily sign up for recurring payments and it gives them the flexibility to schedule their monthly rent payments in advance. This means tenants won’t need to remember to pay it each month and the payment will be made automatically. Through a Customer Vault API integration, it securely stores sensitive payment information with tokenization, enabling recurring payments without property managers having to re-collect tenants’ payment information. Recurring billing eliminates late payments and property managers can save time by not having to track down missed payments. This helps property management businesses streamline and improve their cash flow as well.

2. Flexibility in payments

Tenants want flexibility to pay their rent how they want – whether it’s via ACH, e-cash, credit or debit card. When considering a payments partner, it’s important to think about the payment options available. According to our recent report, Lost in Transaction: The new relationship for ISVs and payments, 80% of ISVs stated that the range of payment options an integrated payments provider could offer was a very important consideration when selecting a partner. Split payments are also a key factor to take into consideration. Many tenants tend to split rent payments amongst various roommates or property managers need to split payments across multiple bank accounts

3. Secure payments

Online security is more important than ever. When considering a payments partner, they should be PCI DSS compliant, provide you with fraud management tools and take on the risk for you. This will ensure your clients and their tenants are protected and give them peace of mind that their payments are secure.

With the impact of COVID-19, integrated payments play an essential role in property management. If you haven’t already integrated payments or are looking for a new partner, now is a great time to do so.

Article Credit Paysafe