The real estate industry has long been known for its reliance on traditional payment methods like checks and wire transfers. However, the industry is now recognizing the value of modern payment solutions, particularly real-time payments, in maintaining and strengthening relationships with vendors and suppliers. As a result, real estate firms across the United States are beginning to explore alternative payment methods to handle vendor and supplier payments. In this article, we’ll examine the challenges and opportunities that real estate firms face when adopting new payment solutions.
The Importance of Vendor and Supplier Partnerships in Real Estate Firms’ Payment Solution Decisions
Real estate firms have a vested interest in maintaining strong relationships with their vendors and suppliers, and are beginning to recognize that the payment solutions they use can affect those relationships. In a recent survey, nearly 90% of real estate firms reported that their vendor and supplier partnerships were very or extremely influential in deciding which payment solutions to use when sending payments to other businesses. Real estate firms are realizing that adopting modern payment solutions can help maintain and strengthen their relationships with vendors and suppliers, leading to better pricing, more favorable contract terms, and increased business opportunities.
Obstacles to Adopting Additional Payment Methods
While real estate firms understand the importance of adopting modern payment solutions, most firms face obstacles in doing so. The survey found that the majority of firms noted obstacles to adopting additional payment methods. These obstacles include the cost of implementation, the difficulty of integrating new payment systems into existing IT systems, and staff training.
The current adoption of real-time payments in real estate firms is
Despite the obstacles, some real estate firms have already begun to adopt real-time payments. However, only 1% of firms currently use real-time payments. The vast majority continue to use traditional payment methods, like checks and wire transfers, for vendor and supplier payments.
Future Adoption Plans for Real-Time Payments in Real Estate Firms
Despite the slow adoption of real-time payments in the real estate industry thus far, the survey found that the majority of firms plan to adopt real-time payment solutions in the future. Specifically, 90% plan to adopt real-time payment solutions to receive payments, and 77% plan to adopt these solutions for making payments in the next year.
Cost Considerations in the Adoption of Real-Time Payments
One of the key obstacles to the adoption of real-time payments is their cost. While real-time payments are generally faster and more efficient than other payment methods, they can also be more expensive. 51% of businesses cited the cost of sending payments using real-time payments as a key hurdle to adoption.
Legacy IT system challenges in the adoption of real-time payments
In addition to cost, the difficulty of replacing or updating legacy IT systems is another obstacle to the adoption of real-time payments. The survey found that 62% of real estate firms identified it as a significant challenge.
Despite these challenges, real estate firms are increasingly recognizing the potential for real-time payments to replace checks and other payment methods. 84% of these firms believe that real-time payments will replace checks for sending payments, and 77% say the same for receiving payments. Additionally, 65% of respondents think real-time payments are positioned to replace standard automated clearing house (ACH) and debit cards as methods of making payments.
Using virtual cards to replace less frequently used payment methods
Finally, the survey found that one-third of real estate firms plan to use virtual cards for sending payments. Virtual cards are similar to traditional credit cards, but are designed for one-time use, making them more secure and less vulnerable to fraud.
The real estate industry is slowly but surely moving towards the adoption of modern payment solutions, particularly real-time payments. While there are challenges to overcome, real estate firms are recognizing the benefits of these payment solutions in terms of strengthening relationships with vendors and suppliers. As real estate firms continue to adopt these technologies, we can expect to see a shift away from traditional payment methods like checks and wire transfers.
