Entrata & Visa Align to Improve Adoption of Cardholder Payments
Lehi, Utah (PRWEB) September 15, 2016 -- Entrata, one of the multifamily industry’s largest payment processors, announced today its strategic alliance with Visa to introduce an improved payment and authorization program to the multifamily industry. The resulting program introduces a lower cost payment method for Visa debit card holders and reduces the number of steps it takes to authorize and process rent payments.
“High, restrictive fees and cumbersome processing methods have traditionally kept renters from using cards to pay rent and made it challenging for operators to have an efficient method of payment processing,” said Kate Hampton, vice president, ResidentPay, Entrata. “We’ve been collaborating with Visa on a framework that we hope will eventually update Visa’s card acceptance rules and regulations to meet the unique processing needs of the entire multifamily industry.”
In processing more than $18 billion in payments over the last 12 months, Entrata found the average adoption rate for transactions by card was four percent. A 10-month pilot of a new program for ResidentPay customers using the outlined framework showed increased card adoption by more than six times for many of the participants like Trinity Property Consultants and Wasatch Property Management.
The new framework for the program eliminates phone authorizations and several fee restrictions for credit and debit card payments and has reduced debit card fees to as low as $4.95 for participating properties.
“With the renters’ switch to paying with card, our properties are able to spend less time scanning checks and associating payments,” said Carla Alicea, vice president of marketing and training for Trinity Property Consultants. “It really makes for a more streamlined payment process, allowing us to eliminate errors, have a better paper trail and save an immense amount of time in the leasing office.”
“Most millennials have never even written a check. The only reason many of our renters are using the ACH option is because it has traditionally been the only affordable option,” said Lynn Bora, senior vice president of operations support for WinnResidential. “The industry has been hungry for a solution for quite some time and we are excited to finally be able to offer our residents, a convenient, affordable way to pay their rent.”
Entrata anticipates the new partnership will go a long way toward making online payments more accessible in communities nationwide.
“In the affordable housing market we find many of our residents wanting to use their state issued EBT cards to pay rent,” said Kitty Callaghan, vice president of marketing and training for Wasatch Management. “With this program, we are now able to offer an extremely low cost way for them to do so.”
Due to the success of the program pilot, Entrata will now extend the offering to any new clients signing on with ResidentPay. Existing clients should contact their CSM or sales representative to determine eligibility.
“For more than 13 years our continual pursuit has been making payments hassle-free for our clients, their residents and the entire multifamily industry. This offering fits right in with our ResidentPay paperless program that is bringing together all the best strategies to increase online payment adoption,” said Hampton.
ABOUT ENTRATA
Founded in 2003, Entrata® is the most comprehensive property management software provider with a single-login, open-access Platform as a Service (PaaS) system. Offering a wide variety of online tools including websites, mobile apps, payments, lease signing, accounting, and resident management, the Entrata® platform currently serves more than 20,000 apartment communities nationwide, including 32 of the NMHC Top 50 Largest Managers. Entrata’s open API and superior selection of third-party integrations offer management companies the freedom to choose the technology and software that best fit their needs. For more information, go to http://www.entrata.com.
Michelle Perroni, Entrata, http://www.entrata.com/, +1 (832) 971-6230, [email protected]
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