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In a bid to reduce tenants’ worries about potential cyber threats, a new rental payment service has been launched.
Research commissioned by PropertyMe, which revealed the extent of the reservations held by Australians around their cyber security and data safety, prompted the platform to launch the MePay portal.
According to PropertyMe, 88 per cent of Australian renters are unsure about what happens to their personal information after it’s been handed over to property managers, while a further 80 per cent remain unaware their agent can hold onto their information indefinitely, even once they’re no longer a tenant.
Additionally, three in four renters admitted their concerns about data leaks have grown over the last 12 months, with 90 per cent of these respondents citing high-profile data breaches at the back end of 2022, including those involving Optus — estimated to have impacted 40 per cent of Australians — and Harcourts, as heightening their worries.
Scott Shepherd, chief product officer at PropertyMe, insists the service was manufactured to ease some of the cyber security worries held by Australian tenants, adding he believes the service will “provide renters with greater security, control, and convenience than the current ad-hoc payment methods on offer.”
While “some real estate agents offer renters a third-party rental payment platform,” Mr Shepherd believes this results in tenants feeling left out to dry as “there is often no choice available to renters in which one they use, and most of these platforms come with fees attached.”
MePay has been touted as allowing tenants to set up their payments, submit maintenance requests, and view all their property and lease information, transactions, and inspections in a single place — and is on offer to agents and owners/tenants.
Mr Shepherd confirmed that rental payments conducted on MePay are “processed using encrypted payment software with a direct link to a major bank, ensuring that they are safe and secure.”
He indicated that unlike with manual payments, where a “tenant is often required to share bank details, along with the swathes of other personal information, with their landlord or agent, with no obligation for that data to ever be destroyed — even after the tenant has moved out,” MePay doesn’t share tenants account details with agents.
Crucially, he added, “There are no hidden fees or charges to catch tenants by surprise.”
Mr Shepherd said MePay’s removal of such provisions provides “greater control, transparency, and privacy around payments.”
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