Paying For "Convenience" ... Would you rather write a check or make an electronic payment? I'll bet that you'd rather click your mouse a few times. And your least favorite way to pay a bill is repeating your credit card number to a call center operator. Right?

In fact, we're quite willing to pay a service fee (or "convenience fee") for the ease of e-commerce. For example, we pay more to buy movie tickets at Fandango to avoid waiting in line. And once we make our online e-payment, it's easy to download into Quicken and document how we spend our money. (And why it's so hard to save!)

So it's not surprising that a study by the National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC) last month found that "property owners and managers ranked electronic rent collection as the no. 1 capability they want to add in upcoming software upgrades. And no wonder: E-payment is hugely convenient for residents, and it can deliver significant savings to a property manager's bottom line." (The E-Payment Explosion, Feb 1, 2005)

Earlier this week, I spoke with Freddy Lunt, president of Princeton Property Management in Portland, OR, which manages about 9,000 units, and one of her apartment managers, Mickala Duprey at Spring Garden Apartments, about their e-payment campaign.

Spring Garden recently offered its tenants the ability to pay rent through Payclix. So far 10 units have signed up out of 44 total units. But even with this relatively small number of participants, "it saves a day a month," according to manager Duprey. And it turns out that the benefit is not just processing rent payments, but also accepting application fees and deposits and handling long-distance move-ins. In addition, it helps with marketing because prospective tenants can pay with debit or credit cards, even if they "forgot their checkbook."

Payclix operates like an escrow account, receiving payment from the renter and notifying the manager by e-mail that funds have been received. The tenant pays a convenience fee of $1.95. The manager accepts payment (assuming there are no disputes), automatically notifying the tenant, and the transaction is uploaded into Princeton's property management software. It's a win-win transaction for both the tenant and the manager.

Spread the Word... Many thanks to MindMatrix and its CEO, Harbinder Khera, for NEWplans' Announcement in this week's Dispatch. If you would like to make a product or service Announcement to Dispatch readers, send e-mail or call me at 415-461-4703

--Peter Pike