Credit/Debit Card Transaction Fees

The more options available for tenants to submit rental payments, the better. By making payment processing convenient for tenants, you can help ensure prompt payments, reduce late fees, and ensure quicker receipt of funds. As with most card transactions, there are merchant processing fees when credit / debit cards are used.  Debit cards when entered online are treated as a credit/debit transaction for merchant processing purposes.

Understanding Credit/Debit Card Transaction Fees

When it comes to card transaction fees (Debit/Credit) there are two applications in your Rentec Direct account:

1. The rate you are charged
   1. Charges to you are 2.95% (3.50% for AMEX) of the total collected for tenant payments, applications, and fees made by card ($1 minimum)
   2. Charges will be applied monthly and a breakdown of this information can easily be reviewed on your Rentec Direct monthly subscription invoice. 
2. The fee you charge Tenants to reimburse yourself for the expense incurred processing the transaction.  You can choose to charge a percentage based convenience fee, or a fixed convenience fee.
   1. Percentage - You can set a percentage rate between 0 and 10% of the transaction.  It is most typical in the industry to set the fee as close as possible to your processing costs.
   2. Fixed - You can set a fixed convenience fee that is applied to all payments regardless the transaction amount.  When making this selection, it is best to figure out your average cost for transactions (average rent payment times your processing rate) and use that value for the fixed convenience fee.

Example: 

If you set your convenience fee to 3.05%, and your tenant makes a $1,000 payment.

1. The convenience fee paid by the tenant is $30.50 ($1,000 rent x 3.05%).  Therefore the tenant makes a total payment of $1,030.50.
2. The processing fee to you is $30.39 ($1030.50 (tenants total payment) x 2.95%) 

In this example, the closest percentage based convenience fee to cover your costs is 3.05% and the tenant transaction fee of $30.50 covers your $30.39 merchant processing fee.

Notes:

1. Although the average convenience fee is 3-5%, check your merchant agreement and local and state laws/regulations to determine if you are allowed to pass the fee on to your tenants, and/or mark it up. 
2. Subscribers on older pricing plans, being charged directly by CSG Forte, will need to verify charges with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) Are fees the same for debit and credit cards?

A) Yes, fees applied by csgForte are the same for both debit and credit card transactions

Q) How am I billed for the fee?

A) Charges will be applied monthly to your Rentec Direct account. A breakdown of charges can easily be reviewed on your Rentec Direct monthly subscription invoice

Q) How much fee should I charge tenants?

A) We cannot advise how much clients should charge, but the average convenience fee used is between 3-5%. * Be sure to check your merchant agreement and local and state laws/regulations to determine if you are allowed to pass the fee on to your tenants and/or mark it up.

Q) Do Tenants know there's a fee when they pay through their portal?

A) Yes, tenants will see the full amount and the fee and will need to approve the transaction. It is always advised to include the fee in your lease or rental agreement.