Living On Credit: Rent Payments By Card Rose 30% In April, Study Finds

Digital payments for rent are on the rise as the coronavirus crisis continues, a new study says.

Conducted by Zego, an apartment technology firm, it found that credit card usage for processing lease payments was up 30% in April, and new registration on digital payments was 25% higher in April than a month earlier.

The study collected data from Zego's 12 million users from March 30 to April 5 and compared it to the same period last year.

It also found that CashPay, which allows tenants to pay rent at CheckFreePay retail locations, dropped 40% in usage.

During the same time period, there was a 14% decline in on-site managers digitally scanning physical checks, indicating a decline in paper payments. But there was a 34% spike in interest from property owners and landlords regarding technology that can process digital payments, Zego said.

All of these findings from the study point to tenants choosing digital, contact-free methods of payment as social distancing and stay-at-home orders are still active nationwide. 

“With stay-at-home orders in effect for most of the nation and millions of Americans unexpectedly unemployed, the way in which rent can be processed and paid for is changing rapidly,” Zego CEO Dirk Wakeham said in a statement.

Zego’s resident engagement platform combines payments, utilities and communication in one app. According to a statement from the company, it serves 6,000 residential real estate companies and over 12 million units nationwide. 

Tech investment firm Vista Equity Partners backs Zego. Last year, proptech provider PayLease acquired Zego.