Safe, Remote Payment Options that Help Mitigate Risk, While Protecting Residents and Staff

The push in the real estate industry and adoption of online payments has increased in recent years to protect properties and residents while making transactions convenient and more secure. Paying online has become safe and easy, all while expediting cash flow with minimal on-site and corporate intervention.

According to the 2020 NMHC/Kingsley Associates Apartment Residents Preference Report, 76 percent of renters now pay electronically every month.

One major upgrade helping deliver 100% remote payments is Lockbox. Lockbox allows property managers to eliminate the burden of processing checks on-site while allowing residents to pay by their preferred payment method. Residents benefit by making secure, remote payments without having to drop by the site office. Residents can now pay rent anytime, anywhere, via any payment method.

Combining both paper and online payment solutions in one platform creates operational efficiencies for Property Management Companies by relieving staff of the burden of collecting and managing paper payments on-site—freeing up their time to focus on managing properties, not payments.

Easy and convenient consolidated payment platforms are becoming increasingly important, even for growing Property Management Companies – and ClickPay’s platform is the only open market solution to deliver one platform for all your payments.

Lockbox reduces the hassle of accepting paper checks

Property Management Companies can eliminate the hassle of collecting paper checks when residents prefer not to pay by credit or debit cards or have rent automatically withdrawn.

Lockbox is a remote payment solution that automates the check collection workflow and minimizes touchpoints to eliminate errors. Residents simply mail checks and money orders to a professional facility, removing the burden of managing and processing checks from site staff.

Utilizing a single post office box, Lockbox aggregates checks from multiple banks, properties and accounting programs. Sophisticated equipment rapidly sorts, extracts and creates an image of the check. Data and funds are routed accordingly and posted automatically to ledgers, minimizing human error. Checks and money orders are processed on the day of receipt and join electronic payments for a single view of payments.

While only 7 percent of renters preferred paying by check, Property Managers know that checks and money orders are the hardest payments to manage and process. ClickPay’s lockbox eliminates the time-consuming task from site staff while still allowing residents to pay by their preferred method of payment.

Most residents favor paying by debit and credit cards

Auto payments are becoming a preferred choice among renters. Of residents responding to the renter preferences report, 60 percent favor paying by debit or credit card and 21 percent said they had no preference other than the process needed to be automated.

While receiving payments via debit and credit cards is convenient, it can come at an expense and present some level of risk to Property Managers. Credit card companies typically charge 2-3 percent in transaction fees and consumers can file disputes up to 30 days after paying, hanging funds in the balance. Also, privacy and security concerns can be an issue. ClickPay maintains bank-level security, PCI and SSAE compliance, and manages all disputes with the card networks.

Making payments through secure custom-branded web portals and mobile pages

ClickPay, the industry-leading, integrated payments platform is the only solution to combine electronic and paper payments all on one dashboard to achieve a 100% paperless payment office environment. ClickPay enables properties to accept all payment methods anytime, anywhere, including ACH, credit and debit cards via a custom-branded web portal and on any mobile device.

The integrated solution offers a full range of payment options that bridge the gap between paper and electronic payments while maintaining a high bank-grade level in a secure online environment. Property Managers gain visibility into every payment collected, regardless of systems and banks, on a centralized dashboard.

Through custom-branded web portals and mobile landing pages, residents have the flexibility to make secure payments on any line-item charge or entire balances. Property Managers can receive cash quicker through next-day funding, even from payments that originated from residents’ online banking portals (accounting for up to 15 percent of checks today).

ClickPay integrates with more than 35 software packages, exchanging data to maximize the user experience. New tools that support the company’s software partners have been added to enhance the onboarding experience—conveniently saving Property Mangers time and resources.

Recently, ClickPay rolled out improved options to support both Flat Files and API exchanges to automate the process of onboarding new residents and the distribution of welcome emails.

Offering the convenience of paying online safely and securely

Apartment residents have come to expect paying rent and other fees electronically rather than by paper. ClickPay delivers a complete solution that makes paying and processing payments online simple and seamless.

Residents now have the convenience of paying anytime and anywhere, safely and securely, while eliminating the need for handling paper payments on-site.

Learn more about how property managers can streamline all payment types and transform receivables with ClickPay.

About ClickPay

The complete platform for automating 100% of real estate payments.
As the industry-leading platform for automating real estate receivables, ClickPay accepts all payment methods, including paper checks, e-checks (ACH), cash, and credit & debit cards. ClickPay delivers integrated print and e-bill presentment and payment services to increase operational efficiencies and enable profitable growth. Shaping the future of real estate billing and payments with innovative products and services, ClickPay provides property management companies with customizable solutions to connect with their tenants, residents, and homeowners. To learn more, go to www.clickpay.com.