The Board understands the importance of alternate payment methods and has placed it as a top level initiative for 2023.  The Treasurer will lead the effort with a solution implemented prior the annual fees invoicing in mid-December.

The objective is to have multiple, alternate payment methods with a low cost for all owners while integrating with our HOA management software.

The solution process includes;

• Requirements gathering completed by the end of May.

• Evaluation of alternative methods by the end of June.

• Decision on the preferred solution or alternative solution(s) for testing and approval of the Board by the end of July.

• Testing results and approval of a selected solution by the end of September. 

As always, any owner is welcome to provide potential solutions or has experience with existing commercial software for process, please contact the Treasurer.

Phase I - Requirements gathering 

This phase is delayed until the July Board meeting.

• Payment must include text description at a minimum

• Checks (online processor or personal checks), Credit Cards, Debit Cards alternatives are desirable alternatives

• Check payments may not have associated fees except for returned deposits such as associated NSF or STOP PAYMENT fees.

• At most two points of invoicing; one for check processing and another for all other methods.  A single point is more favorable but the HOA Manager software makes it difficult to integrate

• Keep the processing costs to a minimum (less than $5 or 5% of the outstanding balance)

• All payments must contain sufficient data to show link the payer information with the owner information. 

Phase II - Alternatives evaluation

This phase is delayed until the August Board meeting.

Venmo

Can I use a business profile as a non-profit? Currently a business profile cannot be used as a non-profit. We hope that we can offer this feature in the near future.

Zelle

Request & Receive Payments are supported by our bank (PNC Bank)

• Provide your U.S. mobile number, email address, or Zelle® QR Code to your customer and let them know you accept payment with Zelle® — if the customer enrolls with Zelle® through their financial institution.

• Or, you can send your customer a payment request[4] by selecting Send Money with Zelle®, then Request. Enter your customer’s U.S. mobile number or email address and the amount of money they owe you, review, then tap on Request. If your customer is not yet enrolled with Zelle®, you can only send a request using their email address.

• When your customer sends a payment or responds to your payment request with a payment, the money will be sent directly to your PNC business checking account, typically in minutes between enrolled users.

Paypal

The paypal option provides multiple payment methods including Paypal, Credit/Debit Card, Venmo and Pay Later.  The fees are only charged when the invoice is paid.  Payment can be made outside the Paypal system (check to BPOA).  Only online payment requesting members require an invoice to be generated in the merchant gateway.  

Considering the existing HOA Manager software features or lack thereof, the Paypal seems to be the simplest to solution to provide for now.