Countless landlords have told us that faster payments are a must-have. We’ve taken this feedback to heart and worked hard to build FastPay, our latest feature update.
We’re proud to provide an outstanding payment solution in terms of convenience, security, and reliability for all landlords and tenants. FastPay is another huge step toward becoming the industry standard for landlords across the US. Without exaggeration, Avail is now the fastest payment processor in our industry, through exclusive access to the ACH network and numerous financial institutions.
Avail landlords offer tenants the convenience of different payment options with varied dates of withdrawal and deposit, depending on the need. This leads to peace of mind on both sides of the transaction. It’s a huge level up from sliding checks under the door, and we’re just getting started.
What is FastPay?
Currently, our payments take 3 business days to process. This is because we use the Federal Reserve’s ACH payment network, which communicates between banks overnight.
With FastPay, we’re now able to deposit payments in landlords’ accounts the day after it’s scheduled to withdraw.
How Fast is FastPay?
Below, you’ll see a comparison of payments with and without FastPay.
With FastPay, if your tenant schedules a payment to withdraw on Tuesday, then it will deposit in your account on Wednesday.
Will credit card payments also process faster?
Yes! In the coming weeks, all credit card payments will process same-day, regardless of your subscription plan.
As usual, credit card payments have a 3.5% processing fee, but tenants can now schedule credit card payments an entire day earlier than all ACH payments, FastPay or standard.
Here are examples to see how these compare:
Via standard ACH, someone who needs to make a payment on Monday will have the earliest withdrawal date of Tuesday, with the funds available in the landlord account Friday.
Via FastPay, the earliest withdrawal date will still be Tuesday, but the funds will be available Wednesday morning.
Via credit card, the earliest withdrawal date is Monday, with funds available to the landlord Wednesday morning.
Credit card payments are a great option for people who need an immediate release of funds and can’t use FastPay right away.
When is FastPay available?
FastPay will be available in the coming weeks. As soon as it’s activated in your account, you’ll receive an email. Continue reading to see if your account is eligible for FastPay.
Who is eligible to enroll in Fastpay?
To enroll in FastPay, you need to:
- Be on a Premium plan
- Set up payments
- Have tenants who have Fast Authorization bank accounts
We’ll break down each of these criteria more:
Premium Plans
Our Premium plans include our Landlord, Landlord Plus, and Professional subscriptions.
If you’re not sure which plan you’re currently on, please click on your user icon in the upper right corner of your account, and click “Subscription Plan.”
Set Up Payments
In order to see the FastPay toggle in your account, you’ll need to set up payments first. Once you set up payments, you’ll see a list of requested payments. At the top of the list, please turn on the toggle that says “Enable faster payments.”
Fast Authorization Bank Account
And last, your tenant needs to have a fast authorization bank account. This means that your tenant has verified their account on Avail by logging into their bank. This connection allows us to process their payments faster, which is why it’s a requirement of FastPay.
What benefits do I get on a Premium plan?
If you’re not currently on a Premium plan, you’ll receive many benefits if you upgrade:
- No ACH fees for your tenants
- Full customization in your account, including application questions and lease clauses
- Marketing website
- Unlimited messages and photos
- Priority support
You can upgrade to a Premium plan for as low as $9.99 per month. View our pricing plans.
I’m eligible, so how does it work?
We’re releasing FastPay in waves to eligible landlords. The sooner you enroll, the sooner we can activate FastPay in your account. To enroll, please remember you need a Premium Avail account with payments set up.
Once FastPay is open for enrollment, you’ll receive an email reminding you to enroll. Please note that at least a few weeks will go by between the date you enroll and FastPay being activated in your account. We will notify you as soon as it’s activated in your account.
How can I make sure I’m in the first “wave”?
To make sure you’re among the first to get FastPay, please make sure you have an Avail account, you’re on a Premium plan, and you’ve set up payments. Here are instructions if you need help with any of the above:
- Sign up for Avail.
- Upgrade to a Premium plan.
- Please log in to your account, click on your user icon in the upper right corner, and select “Subscription Plan.” You’ll want to be on one of the following plans: Landlord, Landlord Plus, or Professional.
- Set up payments.
- “Payments” tab and follow the instructions to set up payments. When you’re done, you’ll see a complete list of requested payments. At the top of the payment list, please toggle on “Enable faster payments.”
Once I turn on FastPay, what should I expect next?
When you toggle FastPay on in your account, you’ve now enrolled in FastPay. A few weeks will go by before FastPay is activated in your account.
And as we stated earlier, FastPay will not automatically work with every payment. In order for a payment to process with FastPay, the following needs to be true:
- The tenant’s bank account is connected via Fast Authorization, meaning they logged into their bank when they added it to our site. This allows us to connect to their bank to move the funds faster.
- The tenant’s connected bank account must have funds available for the payment to process successfully.
Next Steps
If you have any questions, please contact our support team at 312–508–3786 or support@avail.co.
Originally published at Avail.
