PayNearMe

Do you accept payments in cash?

I definitely don’t – for a lot of reasons. One, I don’t want to get mugged. Two – I want proof that the rent was paid. If I accepted cash and get to the bank with $450 instead of $550 – I have a problem. Did I lose $100?

So cash is out… but a majority of my tenants do not have bank accounts, so I can’t easily deduct it straight from their checking account each month either. Therefore, I’m left with one option: Money Orders.

I’ve been using money orders for years now, and it’s worked okay. Tenants either mail their rent or drop it off at my “drop box” and I’ll pick it up and bring it to the bank.

However, I recently heard of a new service that is going to change the way I collect rent from my tenants to make it easier for me to get rent, on time, with less risk.

It’s called PayNearMe.

PayNearMe: What Is It?

PayNearMe is a way to let your tenants pay rent at a local 7-11 (or other retailer), in cash, and have the money directly deposited to your bank account.

In other words, your tenant doesn’t need to go get a money order, get a stamp, get an envelope, and mail the check – and you, as the landlord, don’t need to wait around and wonder if your tenant really sent it (“it must have been lost in the mail!”) or if they are simply lying, so they can wait for their next pay day?

When a tenant uses PayNearMe, they simply take a small piece of paper you give them with a bar code OR bring their smartphone to a 7-11 or other approved retailer, and give the cashier the cash rent, and get a printed …read more