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> Most landlords don't even allow their rent to be paid online. This just completely flummoxes me. The US really is a third world nation sometimes. Here in th
by aden1ne 6y ago
> Most landlords don't even allow their rent to be paid online.
This just completely flummoxes me. The US really is a third world nation sometimes.
Here in the Netherlands it is unthinkable to pay your rent in cash. Most people pay their rent via standing order, or for the few people who haven't automated their payments, via direct wire transfer.
- stanfordkid 6y agoThis is done in America mostly for tax evasion purposes. Most larger buildings run by a real entity allow for bill pay, it's mom & pop landlords that usually ask for cash.
- bananaface 6y agoIt's also done to avoid payment processing charges.
- ghaff 6y agoWhat seems to often happen in cases like my town is that they've farmed out online payment to some third party processor. I'm guessing they do this for free or a reduced charge in exchange for a fairly hefty processing fee. As a result, it's cheaper for me to pay town bills via check even if they're usually online check via my bank.
- kwhitefoot 6y agoWhat payment processing charges? My bank doesn't charge me anything to pay a bill. Do you mean that the landlord has to pay to receive the money?
- coronadisaster 6y agoOnly if you pay by credit card but I dont know if they allow that
- bananaface 6y agoDepends on how they recieve it.
- masklinn 6y agoNever seen a charge for a wire transfer in europe.
- kube-system 6y agoFor what my anecdote is worth, I’ve rented a half-dozen apartments, and I’ve never paid cash for rent, nor had a landlord suggest cash payment. And I don’t know anyone else who has either. If I were to rent another apartment, I would expect to pay by check.
- williamdclt 6y agoYou can replace "cash" with "check" in the parent comment, it still applies :) ("third world nation" would probably be a bit strong)
- masklinn 6y ago> "third world nation" would probably be a bit strong Or a bit weak. Not sure any nation has phased out cash entirely, but I'd assume many developing economies have phased out general use of checks if they ever had it. ("third-world" is very much a misnomer as it meant countries not aligned with either the US — the first world — or the USSR — the second world — so the US can't be a third-world nation by definition)
- judge2020 6y agoIt's probably safe to say that the term has evolved into referring to less-developed nations rather than the original meaning, at least when used inside the US.
- liability 6y agoWhat's wrong with checks/cheques? I prefer paying by check and I'd be pretty miffed if ever I had a landlord that didn't accept them. I don't understand why Europeans think the option of paying by check is so derisible. I could just as easily have the money sent automatically by my credit union every month, but I want to pay by check.
- rrobukef 6y agoBecause of the frequent fraud and anti-fraud problems checks have. As far as I know, most people in the USA need that money that day or that week. Any delay is risky. ID-fraud or a flagged check seems like a nerve wracking incident.
- coronadisaster 6y agoThe ones that ask for cash are probably trying to avoid some taxes... I didn't pay cash for my rent in the USA.
- ghaff 6y agoI assume they mean cash, in the sense of typically a bank withdrawal via check. In which case, they can almost certainly also set up a recurring check payment via their bank online. I actually send quite a few "checks" but with the exception of my housekeeper and some service people I rarely actually write out a check.
- kwhitefoot 6y agoI haven't written a cheque in over twenty years, they don't exist any more in Norway.
- jjcon 6y agoI never used/saw them when I was in the US - I always paid via bank. I’m sure it’s an option though.
- jdeibele 6y agoI find it more convenient to use checks for some purchases but the thing that makes them bad for small businesses is banks charging insufficient fund fees to both the depositor and the person who wrote the check. We bought some salsa from a local business yesterday and she takes Venmo, Zelle, or cash (not the app). If she took a check and it bounced (insufficient funds), then she would be out the money and probably a $12 fee besides. https://www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/resources/fees-at-a-glance.go https://www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/resources/fees-a... It's interesting to see how business checking accounts have changed - there's no free level. You're charged a fee for every deposit past a certain number. I wonder how many small businesses are run now without a business checking account. But a credit union like Unitus https://www.unitusccu.com/business-checking/has https://www.unitusccu.com/business-checking/has free business checking accounts. Deposits are charged $.15 after the first 75 but if you sweep your electronic accounts (Cash app, Venmo, PayPal, etc.) in every other day you could take 5 of them. I only converted about 2 years ago to taking pictures of checks and depositing them. It's much easier than going to the bank or mailing the deposits to Charles Schwab. Three of us did a joint purchase and I got a check from one. The other sent me payment via PayPal but PayPal took 3% as a fee. It didn't bother me enough to say something but it definitely didn't make me happy. It'd be nice to have an option that was zero-cost or $.10 fee per transaction. I bank with credit unions that don't have Zelle yet.
- jjcon 6y agoQuit your nationalistic jerking. They didn’t say pay in cash, they said private landlords don’t have online web portal payments set up. > Most people pay their rent via standing order, or for the few people who haven't automated their payments, via direct wire transfer. This is true per my time in the US as well. When I was in the US though every apartment I lived in had an online portal and I set up direct wire with my private landlord.
- dang 6y agoPlease don't break the site guidelines with swipes like that. Your comment would be just fine without the first sentence. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- jstopo 6y ago> The US really is a third world nation sometimes. Here in the Netherlands Kinda rich coming from someone in a country with a dying tech industry.
- theferalrobot 6y agoThat would imply we ever had one in the Netherlands to begin with
- _fat_santa 6y agoTake that with a grain of salt. I've been renting in the US since I got into college, 5 apartment complexes later and I have yet to see a single place that will not let you pay online. This might be the case for some smaller apartments, but anything bigger and they will always have online payments. I think OP might be a renter in NYC / SF where you have smaller landlords that aren't running 300+ unit complexes.
- tedunangst 6y agoIt completely flummoxes me what Europeans are willing to believe based on unsourced off hand HN comments.
- boring_twenties 6y agoI pay my rent by "check" but it's still fully automated. You just log into your bank and set up a recurring payment; they print a check and mail it every month (for free).
- dang 6y agoPlease don't take HN threads into nationalistic flamewar. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html