JPMorgan Chase Starts Apartment Payment Platform

JPMorgan Chase has entered the proptech industry with rent payment software targeting the multifamily industry, particularly smaller landlords that are unlikely to have existing management systems.

A look at the site for the product, which is called Story, shows that it includes automated invoicing, rent payment notifications that go out to tenants, and tenant reminders of overdue rent. The property management dashboard across all properties in a portfolio shows total expected rents, portion due, occupancy percentages, lease aging and renewal times, property lists, unit counts, and tenant profiles.

“The vast majority of rent payments are still done through checks,” Yen said in a recent interview with CNBC. “If you talk to residents to this day, they often say ‘The only reason I have a checkbook still is to pay my rent.’ So there are lots of opportunities to provide efficiencies there.”

According to JPMorgan, it takes on average between 45 and 60 minutes to add a new property to the Rent Hub portion of Story. The company also claims to have tools that can help someone move from an existing rent collection tool.

Tenants can set up automatic payments and use either ACH transfers or credit or debit cards. Settlement can take up to two days, depending on the process the tenant chooses.

“We’re here to help you focus more on building your wealth and less on manual tasks,” a promotional video says.

The bank is offering 12-month free use. “There will be no transaction fees ACH, debit, or credit card for the first 12 months,” the site says. “Chase clients with a minimum balance will continue to enjoy free ACH payments after the promotional period ends.” The bank does not mention how much the service will otherwise cost after the free period.

In addition to Rent Hub, Story offers other features, including up to 70% off the retail price for credit, criminal, or eviction screens through TransUnion; market data for where properties are located; a property calculator to determine estimated value; a variety of economic data; and an affordability calculator to see if a property qualifies for loan rate discounts from Chase.

Currently, the pilot is available in New York, California, Utah, Illinois, Washington State, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Massachusetts, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, and New Jersey.