Is your board constantly faced with residents who don’t pay their monthly HOA fees on time?

The HOA board and manager should consider an electronic payment program to offer all members and encourage them to take advantage of it to pay monthly HOA fees. Electronic payments are becoming increasingly more popular because of the ease and peace of mind it offers. It can provide numerous advantages for residents, the homeowners association, and the environment.

Benefits for Residents

The option of electronic payments for assessments is very convenient for owners in the homeowners association. Once they have set up their account, they no longer have to worry about lost checks or late payments due to slow mail service. They also won’t have to remember the date each month the assessment is due, and they’ll have the peace of mind knowing their HOA fees are paid on time. Not only does this save residents time and postage, but it can also eliminate late fees.

Benefits for the Association

Direct payment is also beneficial for the homeowners association. It improves cash flow, reduces delinquencies and decreases bank charges, such as lock box service fees, which in turn helps keep assessments down.

Benefits for the Environment

If just 20 percent of households in the U.S. switched to electronic bill payments, 100 million pounds of paper would be eliminated from the manufacturing process—saving 1.4 billion gallons of waste water and 103 million gallons of fuel to deliver it.

In fact, a 20 percent reduction in production and transportation of bills, statements and checks would spare the atmosphere two million tons of greenhouse gas a year. 

According to the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), a nonprofit trade association responsible for the nation’s electronic payments system, 43 percent of all U.S. households use electronic payments for at least one financial obligation, including mortgage, utilities, investments, insurance and loans. However, 19 billion paper bills are still delivered through the mail each year.

For more information on electronic payments, visit www.nacha.org. 

Next Steps

Home computers and the internet make it easy for residents to take advantage of the convenience of paying HOA fees electronically. To start the process of offering an electronic assessment payment to residents, contact your representative where you have bank accounts set up or discuss it with your homeowners association management company.

Related Articles:

Tips to Keep Assessments from Increasing in the Homeowners Association

Budgets, Board Members & HOA Fees – Oh My!