FinTech Stessa Launches Banking Tools for Landlords, Investors

Rental-focused software firm Stessa is launching Stessa Cash Management, a new banking product to aid with automating rent collection, according to a company blog post Wednesday (June 1).

Stessa Cash Management will add ways for investors to automate the manual parts of rent collection, like depositing checks and charging late fees, and enable tenants to set up recurring payments.

It comes as payment tools have become more problematic for rent collection, with landlords being unable to block partial payments in the case of an eviction. Additionally, peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platforms prevent users from using free consumer accounts to get rent, since rent payments are considered commercial transactions.

The company said the benefits of a dedicated checking account for a real estate portfolio include tracking income and expenses more simply and preventing commingling assets. Stessa Cash Management will add more features like competitive cash back and annual percentage yield, no account maintenance fees, no hidden fees and seamless integration with financial tools.

It will also help investors fight the banking and money management system’s clunkier parts, per the release, letting them set up property-specific checking accounts and debit cards linked with the accounts to add to control over expense management.

Last year, PYMNTS wrote that Stessa’s parent company Roofstock was looking to innovate property management and streamline some of the time-intensive manual processes.

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Roofstock’s idea was to let investors buy and rent homes through a simplified property management process with a market for rentals, with a “neighborhood score” calculating an investment’s possible profitability, including whether or not there’s an existing tenant there.

At the time, CEO Gary Beasley said the company is breaking down geographic barriers for real estate investors so anyone can buy and rent out a home.