Online Payment Processing | Overview and FAQ

Rentec Direct's integration with csgForte Merchant Processing Services helps you securely send and receive ACH and credit/debit card payments. Whether you're collecting rent online or paying property owners, everything works together inside your existing workflow.

Electronically processed payments are automatically recorded on the appropriate property, tenant, owner, vendor, and bank ledgers, helping reduce manual entry and keep your accounting organized.

What You Can Do

With an active merchant account, you can:

Accept tenant rent payments by ACH or credit/debit card
Collect online rental application fees
Pay vendors and contractors by ACH
Manage multiple merchant accounts
Offer select payment method options to tenants
Customize accepted payment methods and convenience fees
Send owner disbursements via ACH
Receive owner contributions

Benefits

Online Payment Processing helps you:

Reduce paper checks and manual deposits
Give tenants convenient online payment options
Receive funds electronically
Automate owner and vendor payments
Keep accounting records up to date with automatic ledger entries
Track payment activity within Rentec Direct

Getting Started

To begin using Online Payment Processing:

Complete the two-part Payment Processing Setup | Enrollment process through your Rentec Direct account, which includes:
1. An agreement with Rentec Direct
2. A quick application with CSG Forte
Configure your Payment Processing Settings | Preferences

Once your merchant account is approved, you'll be ready to accept online payments and send ACH transactions.

Merchant Account Availability

Each Rentec Direct subscription includes one or more merchant accounts, depending on your Rentec Direct subscription and portfolio size. Additional merchant accounts may be available for an additional monthly fee. For information about merchant account availability, pricing, and managing multiple merchant accounts, see Multiple Deposit Accounts for ACH.

Who Should Consider Online Payment Options

We recommend that you apply for this service if:

You process more than 5 transactions a month
You want funds to deposit quickly
You want to offer tenants online payment options
You want to receive application fees online
You want to pay vendors and contractors electronically by ACH
You want to pay owner disbursements or allow owner contributions via ACH
You want the flexibility to charge your own convenience fees for ACH and credit/debit card payments.

✨ Frequently Asked Questions about Online Payment Processing in Rentec Direct

✨If you came to this page because you would like to eliminate in-house payment processing of Cash and Money Orders, Rentec Direct's Electronic Rent Collection for Cash Paying Tenants is the solution for you.

Tenant Payments

You will be able to accept tenant payments via ACH from both checking and savings accounts, as well as via all major credit/debit cards.

Tenant payments are made through the Tenant Portal. To allow tenants to access their portal:
- Enable Tenant Portals. When creating a password, check the box to send a welcome email that includes instructions for:
  - Downloading the Resident Connect mobile app, available for both iOS and Android
  - Logging into the portal
  - Making payments
Tenants can make instant payments or schedule one-time or recurring payments through their Tenant Portal, or you can schedule payments for them. See more about Scheduling Online Payment Transactions For Tenants
Tenant payments made via ACH do not incur a fee for you or the tenant
You are charged the following processing fees for debit/credit card transactions:
- Visa/Disc/MC 2.95% of total tenant payment (rent plus any fees)
- AMEX 3.5% of total tenant payment (rent plus any fees)
When setting up your Payment Processing Settings | Preferences in step 2 of the application process, you can choose to:
- Allow all or selected methods of payment between
  - ACH, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and/or American Express
- Only allow Credit/Debit card transactions for online application fees
- Charge the tenants a fee to reimburse yourself for processing fees

Pro Tip: For security purposes, if a tenant attempts to schedule a payment of $10,000 or more, a pop-up will appear advising them to verify the amount for accuracy.

Online Payment Fees

Fees associated with this type of account are:

$0.00 one-time setup fee
$0.00 a month
ACH Transactions: $0.00 per transaction received (rent payments) and $0.50 per transaction paid out (owner disbursements and vendor payments)
Credit/Debit card Transactions: (VISA/MC/DISC) 2.95%, (AMEX) 3.5%

Having your own merchant account gives you the flexibility to set the convenience fee for card transactions, as well as the ACH processing fee your tenants pay, allowing you the option of recouping your credit/debit card transaction fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) What do I need to have in order to apply for a merchant account?

There are only a few requirements to apply. When applications are received by CSG Forte, they may require additional information.

A business checking account that you are at least 25% owner on
Rentec Direct offers a customizable website that showcases your business and lists your available properties at no additional cost. Learn more about how to Build Your Own Enhanced Website

Q) How can tenants identify payments they've made in their bank statements?

Payments issued from a tenant's bank account will appear on their statement with your company's name.

Q) What are the Terms of Use?

Click here to view:

Q) Why was I asked to verify my ID?

For security purposes, new clients will be prompted to verify their identity the first time they apply for or use online payments, tenant screening, or syndication services. After ID validation, all three services can be applied for or accessed without additional verification from Rentec Direct.

How Quickly Funds Are Deposited

Larger national banks typically display the funds the same day they are transmitted as "pending" and are fully cleared the following day.
Smaller banks may not have the same connections to the Federal Reserve, and therefore, may take 1-3 business days (excluding holidays/weekends) to post the transaction to your account.

Q) How can I cancel my merchant account?

You may close your merchant account at any time by sending an email request to success@rentecdirect.com. The email request must be sent from the Primary Account Holder's email and include:

Your contact information
Daytime phone number that you can be reached at
The last four numbers of the bank account associated with the merchant account are to be closed
Upon account closure, all unpaid fees must be paid in full immediately, and any pending payments will be canceled.

The email will not be deemed delivered until you have received confirmation from us that it was received.

Alternatively, you can close your account by sending a letter via first-class mail to Rentec Direct, 231 SW I St, Grants Pass, OR 97526-2814.

NOTE: If your merchant account is closed within 12 months of its opening, a $150 early termination account closure charge will apply.