@Aly W. to be clear, Cozy has three revenue streams: credit reports, background checks, and debit/credit card payments. Our support is also top notch, seven days a week. We aren't going anywhere. :-)

We're able to support free ACH payments, and simply don't see it necessary to nickel and dime customers over something like ACH. As I've mentioned in other threads here on BP, our ACH payment times continue to decrease, and later this quarter we'll see them cut in half again. Even today, if tenants pay with a card, it's 1-2 day turnaround.

Best,

Gino

CEO & Founder at Cozy

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Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
10y
Originally posted by @John Morey:

Hello all,
I am investigating some good online rent payment services. I have read an article on here but I am curious about COZY =
https://www.landlordology.com/rent-payment/
Has anyone used this service? thoughts/feedback please.
Thank you....
John
I use it. It is free, easy to set up, but the ACH takes a few days to deposit so make sure you have enough money to pay your bills. Most of my tenants use quickpay with Chase but my one tenant uses Cozy and I think I got my deposit on the 11th this month
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John Morey
OP
Investor · Athens, AL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 17 votes
10y
I hear yah... I have read on their site it does take some time for them to send you the money after the tenant/resident has paid.
0 Reply
Richard Dunlop
Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2014 · 755 posts · 462 votes
10y
DO NOT USE QUICK PAY with CHASE.
It lets the tenant cancel a payment that they have approved two weeks prior.
Stupid system must have been designed in the 1920's
A paper written check is about 75 years more advanced than Chase's system.
3 Reply
Ryan Billingsley
Investor/Realtor · Wentzville, MO · Member since 2014 · 846 posts · 431 votes
10y
@John Morey
I just recently started using Cozy to collect rent for my units. I am in the process of introducing the tenants to it. It is free for landlords and free for tenants if they use ACH account. If they choose to use debit or credit they are charged a fee.
I will keep you posted on how it goes when my tenants start paying through it.
4 Reply
Kevin FoxPro Member
Real Estate Agent · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 635 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Richard Dunlop:

DO NOT USE QUICK PAY with CHASE.
It lets the tenant cancel a payment that they have approved two weeks prior.
Stupid system must have been designed in the 1920's
A paper written check is about 75 years more advanced than Chase's system.
Wow. Impressive foresight on Chase's part.
Designing a web-based payment system at least 60-70 years before the Internet was available for the public. Now that is the kind of innovation we need more of around here 😬
2 Reply
Doug H.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 96 posts · 59 votes
10y
For our larger management company, we you Appfolio. However, for my smaller side rentals, I'm using Cozy. As mentioned above, it takes about 5-7 days for the payments to show up in your account. They seem to be adding features as they grow.
1 Reply
Doug H.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 96 posts · 59 votes
10y
"...use Appfolio." Sigh.
1 Reply
Richard Dunlop
Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2014 · 755 posts · 462 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Kevin Fox:

Originally posted by @Richard Dunlop:
DO NOT USE QUICK PAY with CHASE.
It lets the tenant cancel a payment that they have approved two weeks prior.
Stupid system must have been designed in the 1920's
A paper written check is about 75 years more advanced than Chase's system.
Wow. Impressive foresight on Chase's part.
Designing a web-based payment system at least 60-70 years before the Internet was available for the public. Now that is the kind of innovation we need more of around here 😬
I hope my sarcasm showed through.
Western Union can deliver money to my wife in about
2 minutes when she is 12,000 miles away, why can't
Chase put money in my account in less than a week.
If you specify a date they ignore it!
They process it when the tenant approves it.
So if I send a request for the date we agreed and the
tenant approves it two days earlier than the date I specified
the tenant ends up with an overdraft!
Actually probably 1910 is more closely describes their technology.
1 Reply
Mike F.
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 570 posts · 521 votes
10y
Have been using it for about 6 months, it's not the most robust system and not very forward thinking by any means, but it works. As I recall there are some really strange things about it, like allowing the tenant to choose what day to pay the rent on when setting up their account. Obviously if you're the landlord and your lease says it's due on the 1st and you set up the tenant's account for email invite to the system the tenant shouldn't have the ability to set up payment for another day. A smart tenant obviously knows they are supposed to pay on the day the invite says and the lease says so why Cozy gives them this option I have no idea. If then tenant choose the correct day of the month during set up there is not issue, if for some reason they get confused and choose the wrong day during set up you obviously now have to get involved to correct it. Just not reason to allow something like that to happen. There are lots of things like that in their system that make you scratch your head, like I said not the most robust or intuitive system, but once set up it works.
We have a few issues also when you are extending a lease or giving an existing tenant a new lease, Cozy makes you start all over again from scratch as if the tenant hasn't been using the system already. Again, strange and not really a 'smart' interface.
1 Reply
Aly W.
Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
I use www.erentpayment.com. It's $3 per transaction, which I pay. The features are robust, the customer service excellent, and the money is usually in my account within 3-4 business days. Holidays and weekends add an extra 2 days or so.
Other free rent payment services have come and gone. This one isn't free. Free is rarely good, and good is rarely free.
2 Reply
Gino Zahnd
Founder/CEO · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 93 votes
10y
@Aly W. to be clear, Cozy has three revenue streams: credit reports, background checks, and debit/credit card payments. Our support is also top notch, seven days a week. We aren't going anywhere. :-)
We're able to support free ACH payments, and simply don't see it necessary to nickel and dime customers over something like ACH. As I've mentioned in other threads here on BP, our ACH payment times continue to decrease, and later this quarter we'll see them cut in half again. Even today, if tenants pay with a card, it's 1-2 day turnaround.
Best,
Gino
CEO & Founder at Cozy
11 Reply
John Morey
OP
Investor · Athens, AL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 17 votes
10y
@Gino Zahnd That is very good to hear that the LANDLORD doesn't have to wait very long to get their money paid by the tenant thru your system.
could you respond to this post by @Mike F.
"
Have been using it for about 6 months, it's not the most robust system and not very forward thinking by any means, but it works. As I recall there are some really strange things about it, like allowing the tenant to choose what day to pay the rent on when setting up their account. Obviously if you're the landlord and your lease says it's due on the 1st and you set up the tenant's account for email invite to the system the tenant shouldn't have the ability to set up payment for another day. A smart tenant obviously knows they are supposed to pay on the day the invite says and the lease says so why Cozy gives them this option I have no idea. If then tenant choose the correct day of the month during set up there is not issue, if for some reason they get confused and choose the wrong day during set up you obviously now have to get involved to correct it. Just not reason to allow something like that to happen. There are lots of things like that in their system that make you scratch your head, like I said not the most robust or intuitive system, but once set up it works.
We have a few issues also when you are extending a lease or giving an existing tenant a new lease, Cozy makes you start all over again from scratch as if the tenant hasn't been using the system already. Again, strange and not really a 'smart' interface."
Thanks!
0 Reply
Gino Zahnd
Founder/CEO · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 93 votes
10y
@John Morey Sure!
Tenants choose the day of month they pay rent to ensure they select and approve the day payments process from their bank account. We require authorization from the tenant for both the amount and date, and have found this flexibility allows for fewer failed payments, and landlords getting paid on time, or early more often than not.
We see a significant number of tenants paying before the rent due date to ensure the payment arrives early, and any issues can be dealt with before the due date. Restricting the date tenants pay rent to only a single date of the landlord’s choosing has proven to be problematic, and we’ve seen far fewer issues now that tenants can pay on any day of the month. So: our mountain of data shows that providing this flexibility actually improves the experience for everyone.
That said, it’s just like handing a check to your landlord. If a tenant chooses to select a day that’s after the due date to pay rent, you’re of course able to add late fees as needed to ensure your lease contract is enforced.
Lastly, I'd like to point out that a lot has changed in the past six months when @Mike F. got set up; we've built a completely new app from the ground up, a brand new mobile web app, etc.. The fact that he hasn't seen the product in six months signals that our automatic recurring payments are working quite well for him! :-)
0 Reply
John Morey
OP
Investor · Athens, AL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 17 votes
10y
awesome!!!
0 Reply
Valerie Couch
Turnkey Provider/Agent · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 167 posts · 37 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Doug H.:

For our larger management company, we you Appfolio. However, for my smaller side rentals, I'm using Cozy. As mentioned above, it takes about 5-7 days for the payments to show up in your account. They seem to be adding features as they grow.
0 Reply
Valerie Couch
Turnkey Provider/Agent · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 167 posts · 37 votes
10y
We use AppFolio for all of our property management including rent payments. It is not very sophisticated but does the basics and is user friendly. Tenants do not get charged if they use their routing and checking account numbers but the software does charge $17 for credit/debit card payments. The only issues we have found are that the payments can be returned just like a check for NSF (in those cases we turn off the option for tenants to continue to pay online). Also, if there are multiple charges on the tenant's account and the payment they make is not for the full balance, the payment is automatically allocated to rent and not necessarily a past due balance.
I have to say, as convenient as it is we still see an awful lot of volume with physical checks still.
Hope that helps!
1 Reply
George P.
Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
we have an account with cozy and intuit.
we abandoned cozy and just intuit exclusively.
50 cents per trans.
0 Reply
Rich Schmidt
Investor · Valparaiso, IN · Member since 2011 · 103 posts · 65 votes
10y
I've offered it to all 5 of our tenants (I think), but only one is using it. My only comment was going to be how long it takes for the money to appear in my checking account. Let's see... this month, according to Cozy, the tenant sent the payment Dec. 31. It appeared in my checking account on Jan. 7. She sent her Dec. rent on Dec. 1, and it arrived Dec. 8.
That's a bit slow, so I'm glad to see it's going to be "cut in half" soon.
It really gets annoying when the tenant pays within the 5-day grace period... but of course, the money takes another 7-8 days to arrive. In Nov. she sent her rent through Cozy on the 4th, and it arrived in my account on the 12th.
0 Reply
Tim Watcke
Investor · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2012 · 19 posts · 10 votes
10y
I have been using cozy for almost a year. I love it and am fine with the payment delay. I have over 15 tenants on it now. It works out really well for homes with several room mates , they each select the amount and pay their portion. Also a new feature added recently for billing one time items like utilities and other fees is great.
1 Reply
John Morey
OP
Investor · Athens, AL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 17 votes
10y
@Gino Zahnd thoughts on what @Rich Schmidt said about the delays just recently?
1 Reply
Taylor Boudreau
Portland, OR · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 6 votes
10y
@John Morey Jumping in for Gino here! ACH payments currently deposit in about 5 business days with card payments depositing in 1 to 2 business days. January payments were also delayed by 1 extra day due to the New Years being a banking holiday, however February payments sent on the 1st are expected to post on the 5th.
The reason for the delay is to mitigate risk both for Cozy and for our landlords. Processing payments faster does significantly increase the chance of payment failures being returned by tenant banks after funds are deposited. While debit and credit card payments return these failures immediately, ACH payments take several days to return these failures, most commonly for insufficient funds.
That said, in a couple months we'll roll out a new feature that significantly reduces ACH payment times, and will cut processing time in half.
Taylor
Cozy Support
0 Reply
John Morey
OP
Investor · Athens, AL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 17 votes
10y
@Taylor Boudreau I hear yah however this...
"The reason for the delay is to mitigate risk both for Cozy and for our landlords." is a process issue. Not being argumentative just stating that a process can be adjusted to make it faster and still protect COZY and the landlord.
I look forward to the update to COZY.
Thanks.
0 Reply
Mike F.
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 570 posts · 521 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Gino Zahnd:

@John Morey Sure!
Tenants choose the day of month they pay rent to ensure they select and approve the day payments process from their bank account. We require authorization from the tenant for both the amount and date, and have found this flexibility allows for fewer failed payments, and landlords getting paid on time, or early more often than not.
We see a significant number of tenants paying before the rent due date to ensure the payment arrives early, and any issues can be dealt with before the due date. Restricting the date tenants pay rent to only a single date of the landlord’s choosing has proven to be problematic, and we’ve seen far fewer issues now that tenants can pay on any day of the month. So: our mountain of data shows that providing this flexibility actually improves the experience for everyone.
That said, it’s just like handing a check to your landlord. If a tenant chooses to select a day that’s after the due date to pay rent, you’re of course able to add late fees as needed to ensure your lease contract is enforced.
Aren't the tenants rent payments not automatic each month once set up? Are you saying the tenant is manually making the payment each month? I was under the impression that the payments are automatically being deducted from the tenants account each month.
1 Reply
Justin Brooks
Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2015 · 5 posts · 9 votes
10y
I use Cozy for tenant screening and payments, and I love them. Highly recommended.
3 Reply
Gino Zahnd
Founder/CEO · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 93 votes
10y
@Mike F. you're correct. The vast majority of rent payments are automatic and recurring. It's also possible to make one-time payments for any number of things as well.
0 Reply

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