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Some property managers find rent collection to be a labor-intensive hassle, but proptech solutions are helping to automate and ease the process.
Several proptech companies are providing solutions to reduce the number of cash and check payments and digitize those payments, says James Scott, IREM innovator-in-residence and research scientist with the real estate technology hub at MIT’s Center for Real Estate.
Zego Pay, for instance, uses payment software to automatically digitize rent payments, whether tenants pay online, by check, or with cash. The results can include financial savings from fees and labor. “Processing checks and cash payments can cost from $3 to $10 per payment,” says Mark Peters, president and general manager of Zego.
Next Up: Digital Currency?
The next development in rent collection may be digital currency. One property manager who is already on board is Jason Hagenow, vice president of property management at Meridian Group in the Madison, Wis., area. “Our tenants can pay rent directly from their digital wallets. We focus on bitcoin, as it’s the most widely accepted digital currency with the most consistent pricing.”
He says he offers tenants a deal. “If a tenant pays in bitcoin, we give them rent credits for value increases. For example, if rent is $1,000 and the payment in bitcoin appreciates to $1,200 by the next month, we split the $200 increase, giving the tenant a $100 credit for the following month.”
Could wider use be coming? “As [digital currencies] become more stable, we will see more adoption,” Hagenow says.
