6 ms·

> You are no longer obsessing over "early payday" features or ACH speeds. Timing ACH payments _sucks_. Tangential, but I'm in a renting situation where my lan

by ollien 5y ago

> You are no longer obsessing over "early payday" features or ACH speeds. Timing ACH payments _sucks_. Tangential, but I'm in a renting situation where my landlord demands rent land in their account on the first of the month. Receiving rent on the 26th (i.e. 5 days early, not 26 days late) was deemed "too confusing" for them. I now have to play this awful game of timing ACH transfers to land on their account as close to the first as I possibly can.

arcticbull 5y ago
Agreed, luckily RTP rollout is well under way, and it won't be long before ACH is a thing of the past. [1] [1] https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  FedNow, the Fed’s instant payment system to replace ACH, it currently ahead of schedule for a 2023 GA. Beta testing between a handful of financial institutions is working as expected (from what I’ve heard). One way or another, instant payments will be here shortly.
jedberg 5y ago
What state are you in? What they are doing may be illegal. In California the rent is on time as long as you pay in advance of the deadline. If you send in six months rent all at once, then you are on time for the next six months. Also your bank may be able to do this for you. If you add your landlord as a bill pay recipient and set the due date as the 1st, the bank will mail the check on the appropriate day, and if it arrives late, will often cover the late fee.
- ollien 5y ago
  Oh, they've not declared it as a lease violation, they've just asked me to do it this way and I've compiled, despite being annoyed by it. I haven't checked local laws (MA), but I've tried to be a good tenant. Also, no, my bank will not do this for me. My landlord actually is overseas (permanently), so mailing a check is not feasible.
- pdpi 5y ago
  I just tried this, I opened my bank's app and it took me the whole of 2 minutes to set up a standing order to pay my friend £10 on the first of the month. It would be in his account on the 1st, or the next working day. I pay my cleaner via bank transfer when she leaves my place, and it's in her account by the time she's in the bus. My bank mailing cheques to my landlord is a concept that's just bizarre to me.
  - jedberg 5y ago
    Given that you are sending pounds instead of dollars, I'm guessing you live in a civilized place with modern banking and not a backwoods like the USA. The problem is not technology, it's the USA banking system. We have no way to instantly send money to someone over a few thousand dollars without huge fees. Oftentimes rent exceeds that limit in urban areas.
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      You can send money via Zelle instantly, but I would stick to check or ACH purposes for legal dispute reasons in the case of conducting business, especially paying rent.
      - jedberg 5y ago
        Zelle has a few thousand dollar per day/week/month limit, which, at least in the Bay Area, is too low for rent.
        toomuchtodo 5y ago
        I can send $5k per day to seasoned Zelle contacts who I’ve sent funds to previously (Chase).
        lotsofpulp 5y ago
        I see $20k in 30 days, $10k in 7 days, and $3.5k in 24 hours in my BoA account: https://i.imgur.com/he9PXTn.png https://i.imgur.com/he9PXTn.png I can see $3.5k/day would be a problem for paying rent easily in some places. I guess this is the best we have for instant online payments until FedNow goes live.
reaperducer 5y ago
I'm in a renting situation where my landlord demands rent land in their account on the first of the month. Receiving rent on the 26th (i.e. 5 days early, not 26 days late) was deemed "too confusing" for them. I ran into this at my last place. I'm the sort of person who likes to pay things ahead so I don't have to think or worry about them. I was used to paying my rent ahead and quarterly. When I moved to the new place (in a western state), the apartment company insisted that rent be paid exactly on the 1st, and paid online. Not only did it not want the rent early, it was not possible to pay early, as the company's online system would show a zero balance, and would not show a payment mechanism. Even worse — I couldn't pay a bunch up front. It would only allow payments for the exact amount due for that month. Payment was also accepted by check. But only in person, and with a $75 "processing" fee. And this wasn't some rinky-dink neighborhood landlord. It was a national apartment company with over 20,000 units in a dozen states. Interestingly, my new apartment has the same online system as the old one, but allows me to pay however much I want as often as I want. (As long as it's not late, duh.) So it wasn't a technical limitation, it was management's policy.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  A lot of landlords would absolutely prefer someone who pays long in advance. If I were you I would've given these guys the middle finger and found a better landlord.
  - kelnos 5y ago
    Unfortunately you often don't find out about this policy until you've signed the lease and set up your payment account.
    - mindslight 5y ago
      Any such policy would need to be specified within the lease to be enforceable. If there is nothing in your lease that mandates a bespoke payment method, call their bluff and just pay by check. There are real issues with incomprehensible leases and terms of adhesion sprung late in the process, but it behooves us to keep focus on the specific contours of the problem so the people who are able to push back on such nonsense can better do so.

by ollien 5y ago

arcticbull 5y ago

Agreed, luckily RTP rollout is well under way, and it won't be long before ACH is a thing of the past. [1] [1] https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp

toomuchtodo 5y ago
FedNow, the Fed’s instant payment system to replace ACH, it currently ahead of schedule for a 2023 GA. Beta testing between a handful of financial institutions is working as expected (from what I’ve heard). One way or another, instant payments will be here shortly.

jedberg 5y ago

What state are you in? What they are doing may be illegal. In California the rent is on time as long as you pay in advance of the deadline. If you send in six months rent all at once, then you are on time for the next six months. Also your bank may be able to do this for you. If you add your landlord as a bill pay recipient and set the due date as the 1st, the bank will mail the check on the appropriate day, and if it arrives late, will often cover the late fee.

ollien 5y ago
Oh, they've not declared it as a lease violation, they've just asked me to do it this way and I've compiled, despite being annoyed by it. I haven't checked local laws (MA), but I've tried to be a good tenant. Also, no, my bank will not do this for me. My landlord actually is overseas (permanently), so mailing a check is not feasible.
pdpi 5y ago
I just tried this, I opened my bank's app and it took me the whole of 2 minutes to set up a standing order to pay my friend £10 on the first of the month. It would be in his account on the 1st, or the next working day. I pay my cleaner via bank transfer when she leaves my place, and it's in her account by the time she's in the bus. My bank mailing cheques to my landlord is a concept that's just bizarre to me.
- jedberg 5y ago
  Given that you are sending pounds instead of dollars, I'm guessing you live in a civilized place with modern banking and not a backwoods like the USA. The problem is not technology, it's the USA banking system. We have no way to instantly send money to someone over a few thousand dollars without huge fees. Oftentimes rent exceeds that limit in urban areas.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    You can send money via Zelle instantly, but I would stick to check or ACH purposes for legal dispute reasons in the case of conducting business, especially paying rent.
    - jedberg 5y ago
      Zelle has a few thousand dollar per day/week/month limit, which, at least in the Bay Area, is too low for rent.
      - toomuchtodo 5y ago
        I can send $5k per day to seasoned Zelle contacts who I’ve sent funds to previously (Chase).
        lotsofpulp 5y ago
        I see $20k in 30 days, $10k in 7 days, and $3.5k in 24 hours in my BoA account: https://i.imgur.com/he9PXTn.png https://i.imgur.com/he9PXTn.png I can see $3.5k/day would be a problem for paying rent easily in some places. I guess this is the best we have for instant online payments until FedNow goes live.

reaperducer 5y ago

I'm in a renting situation where my landlord demands rent land in their account on the first of the month. Receiving rent on the 26th (i.e. 5 days early, not 26 days late) was deemed "too confusing" for them. I ran into this at my last place. I'm the sort of person who likes to pay things ahead so I don't have to think or worry about them. I was used to paying my rent ahead and quarterly. When I moved to the new place (in a western state), the apartment company insisted that rent be paid exactly on the 1st, and paid online. Not only did it not want the rent early, it was not possible to pay early, as the company's online system would show a zero balance, and would not show a payment mechanism. Even worse — I couldn't pay a bunch up front. It would only allow payments for the exact amount due for that month. Payment was also accepted by check. But only in person, and with a $75 "processing" fee. And this wasn't some rinky-dink neighborhood landlord. It was a national apartment company with over 20,000 units in a dozen states. Interestingly, my new apartment has the same online system as the old one, but allows me to pay however much I want as often as I want. (As long as it's not late, duh.) So it wasn't a technical limitation, it was management's policy.

Nextgrid 5y ago
A lot of landlords would absolutely prefer someone who pays long in advance. If I were you I would've given these guys the middle finger and found a better landlord.
- kelnos 5y ago
  Unfortunately you often don't find out about this policy until you've signed the lease and set up your payment account.
  - mindslight 5y ago
    Any such policy would need to be specified within the lease to be enforceable. If there is nothing in your lease that mandates a bespoke payment method, call their bluff and just pay by check. There are real issues with incomprehensible leases and terms of adhesion sprung late in the process, but it behooves us to keep focus on the specific contours of the problem so the people who are able to push back on such nonsense can better do so.