How to get residents to pay ONLINE!!

I'm curious how managers have forced, encouraged, or incentivized residents to pay their rent online. We are about to start covering the ACH fee so our property will now offer a no-fee option for residents to pay online. But, along with that announcement I'd like to try something else to encourage adoption of online payment. Right now we probably have over 50% of our residents bringing in checks and money orders every month which takes up a ton of administrative time.

Thank you!

We have tried a few different approaches that have gotten more people to sign up, but I wouldn't say have been extremely successful. When we first introduced the Resident Services Portal, we held a drawing for a new flat screen TV for new users who signed up for ACH during the promo time frame.

We also tried re-introducing/reminding residents of the RSP & ACH through SMS text messaging. The text wasn't very long, but did include the basic steps of how to sign up. We also sent an email.

Within the next year, we are planning to no longer accept checks at the property offices. This would require residents to mail a check with a stamp (or drop it off) to the corporate office. That is when we think we'll get the most people to sign up as we have many properties out of state.

When we first offered our residents this option we would give them $10/month off their rent if they paid online. We no longer offer this and have around 87% of our residents paying online. We would love 100% but there are some people who just don't trust paying online.

We found a way to get our residents to pay online. We charge $10 if residents pay by check or money order in our single family management portfolio. This starts with all new residents a few years ago so we still have a few paying with checks and money orders. But it is dwindling. Part of the strategy is helping residents learn how to do online banking and bill payments. It takes a bit of mentoring but saves us so much time with 80%+ of our residents paying online.