How to collect rent online without losing a cut of every payment

Paper checks are the single biggest time-sink in being a small landlord. You wait for them, you drive them to the bank, you reconcile them by hand, and once a year one bounces or goes missing. Moving rent online fixes all of that — but a lot of landlords hesitate because they're not sure how it works or what it really costs. Here's the plain version.

How online rent actually works

The setup is short. You add a property with its address and rent, then invite your tenant by email. They get a portal with your name on it where they can pay by bank transfer (ACH) or debit/credit card. You connect your own bank account once, and from then on paid rent deposits straight into it.

After that, the routine runs itself:

• A recurring invoice goes out each month on the due date you set.
• Reminders handle the awkward follow-up before and after the due date.
• Tenants who turn on autopay never miss a due date by accident.
• When a payment clears, you get a notification and the money lands in your account.

You see what's paid, what's late, and what to do next from one dashboard, and both you and your tenant share a full ledger — so there's never an argument about what was paid and when.

What it actually costs

This is where most platforms get vague, so we'll be specific. With RentMerchant, landlords don't pay to collect rent. The tenant covers the payment processing fee at checkout, and the exact fee is shown before anyone pays — no surprises buried in the fine print.

The fee depends on how the tenant pays. Bank transfer (ACH) is the cheapest by far — a small, capped fee — while cards cost more because the card networks charge more. That's true of every processor; the difference is whether the platform shows it to you honestly. We publish the full breakdown on the fees page.

Just as important is what you don't pay: there's no percentage skimmed off the rent itself. A platform that takes 1% of a $2,000 rent is quietly charging you $240 a year per unit. Keeping the full rent yours is the whole point.

Set it up so it collects itself

The biggest win isn't the payment — it's never having to think about it. Two settings do most of the work:

• Recurring invoices. Set the rent once and the invoice goes out every month automatically. You're not re-creating anything.
• Autopay. Encourage tenants to switch it on. Once they do, the rent shows up on time every month without either of you lifting a finger.

If you charge a late fee, the system can apply it for you, so you're not doing math or having an uncomfortable conversation. Tenants who want to see their side can read how paying rent online looks for them.

Is it safe?

Payments run through Stripe, the same infrastructure used by some of the largest companies online. RentMerchant never stores raw card or bank numbers, and accounts support two-factor sign-in. For most landlords, online rent is more secure than a paper check sitting in a mailbox with an account and routing number printed on it.

Getting started

You can add a property and invite a tenant in a few minutes, and they can pay today. It's free for up to three properties, so there's no reason not to try it on one unit and see how a month goes. Start collecting rent online →