FL Online payment options

Started by FranC2 • 5 replies • 173 views

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FranC2 (Florida)
Posts: 19

Posted:

Can anyone tell me how costly it is for an HOA to set up the option of allowing residents to pay their membership dues online?

I reside in a small community & the HOA board just canceled that option (which they only offered for one year) because they state that it would cause "an extreme increase of dues" if they allowed it. They have no website & are now back to requiring a money order or cashiers check only.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

That depends on the bank, so the board should start there. Nearly everyone has an online bill pay option and it can be as simple as setting up automatic debit of a homeowner's account. The homeowners should also check with their own bank to see if there are other options.

When I began paying my bills electronically, my bank had a bank by phone service where you'd call an automated system to dictate which bill should be paid on X date. You called customer service to provide the address and account numbers of your creditors.

The kicker was the money would be removed on X date from your account, but you had to allow 7-10 business days (not weekends or holidays) for the bank to cut a paper check and mail it. Right away, you should see how cumbersome this could get.

You don't say how small your community is, but I can't imagine online bill pay to be so expensive it can't be done. Ask the board for the numbers and why they don't consider factoring that in when preparing the budget. I suspect your neighbors would be OK with paying for a system that saves time and money in tge long run.

While you're at it, Google "check fraud" and note how this has increased and causes a lot of problems for business and customers alike. Do another on mail theft, and then ask the board has it considered that paying a little more could be worth it if homeowners have a quick and safe way to pay assessments

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

FranC2 (Florida)
Posts: 19

Posted:

Thanks for your response. They won’t accept any form of bill pay from the bank, trust me, I’ve gone back and forth with them about that. I’ve lived in quite a few communities and had many different HOAs over the years, big and small, and have always been able to pay online or with a personal check.

They want a money order or cashiers check only. Last year they had a site that allowed credit card payments but they did away with that this year because they say it too expensive. I’m just wondering if maybe they’re not aware of what’s out there.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

That could, be it, or they've heard so much about credit card fraud, fraud involving payment apps and the like that they're paranoid. It's easier to say something's too expensive if you don't understand it.

It may be you need to educate them about what's out there, Start with your own bank and bring that information to the board. If there are other homeowners who feel as you, they can also help with research.

All of you can then come to the next meeting and show what you've found. including the numbers. Challenge them to show what they've learned and what's involved - they may not be asking the right questions, working off rumors, etc.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,048

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By FranC2 on 02/08/2025 4:59 PM

They want a money order or cashiers check only.

I'm not a big fan of punishing all when it's only a few, but it appears to be enough people (perhaps) stopped payments on their checks before they were cashed by the Association. Some banks will charge the individual/company who trys to deposit a check that had a stop payment on it. If this is the case with the bank your Association uses, it's possible that it simply became too costly to accept unsecured checks.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

I don't like people having to pay money order or cashier check fee either. If they want to make that a requirement for people who have a habit of making rubber checks, that's one thing, but the entire community shouldn't have to suffer if they do what they're supposed to do.

Oh, show your hoard this article on theft of checks in the mail. Granted this doesn't happen all the time, but it has increased in recent years

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/usps-employees-caught-stealing-24-963790.amp

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

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