The real estate industry has experienced immense changes in recent years. From the rise of online property portals to digital advertising, technology has disrupted traditional real estate practices. One of the most crucial tech-driven changes has been the adoption of online payment gateways by real estate developers, agents and property dealers.
Payment gateways have become an indispensable part of real estate transactions today. For property seekers, payment gateways offer a safe and convenient option to pay brokerage, booking, or token amounts online. For real estate companies, payment gateways enable faster, easier and more transparent transactions.
This blog will discuss how payment gateways are revolutionising real estate deals. We will look at key benefits like automated settlements, multiple payment modes, increased transparency and automated reconciliation.
Automated Settlement
For real estate companies, payment collection can be a time-consuming process involving the physical collection of cheques or cash. However, integrating a payment gateway automates the payment collection process to a large extent.
Once a payment gateway is integrated with the real estate company’s website or mobile app, customers can pay instantly via credit card, debit card, net banking, etc. The amount automatically gets credited to the company’s bank account. This eliminates the need for manual collection and reconciliation later.
Automated payment settlement enables real estate companies to receive payments faster. It also reduces operational costs and overhead since less workforce is required for payment collection. Agents and brokers also benefit from faster commissions credited to their accounts via payment gateways.
Multiple Payment Modes
Enabling multiple payment modes is another key benefit offered by payment gateways for real estate. Customers can choose from:
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- Netbanking
- EMI/ ECS
- Mobile wallets
- UPI
- Payment Link
This payment flexibility results in higher conversion rates for real estate companies. Customers appreciate the convenience of paying through their preferred mode.
For instance, NRIs/foreign property buyers can conveniently pay through their internationally valid credit cards. Customers without credit cards can pay via net banking or UPI or through link. Real estate companies benefit from the availability of diverse payment options.
Increased Transparency
Lack of transparency is one of the biggest issues in India’s real estate sector. However, integrating a payment gateway brings in more transparency. All transactions have proper digital records in the payment gateway system. Transaction details are recorded, including property details, payment amount, tax, customer info, date and time.
This high level of transparency builds customer trust. Customers can download payment receipts with all relevant transaction information. Financial authorities can also easily access payment records if needed. Such transparency helps in tackling corruption and malpractices prevalent in Indian real estate.
Automated Reconciliation
For real estate companies, reconciling accounts and payments is a laborious process. However, payment gateways allow easy reconciliation and tracking of payments.
The payment gateway provides a merchant dashboard that shows all information like:
- Number and amount of successful/failed transactions
- Refunds issued
- Chargebacks
- Top-performing properties
Real estate companies can download reconciliation reports from the payment gateway rather than manually tallying receipts and bank statements. Automated reconciliation improves efficiency and accounting accuracy.
Conclusion
Integrating payment gateways has become crucial for modern real estate businesses. Payment gateways offer various benefits like:
- Faster automated settlements
- Multiple payment modes
- Increased transparency
- Automated reconciliation
Together, these factors are revolutionising the real estate purchase experience. Customers enjoy greater convenience and transparency. Real estate dealers, brokers and companies benefit from faster payments, lower costs and easier accounting.
Moving forward, seamless integration with property portals will further boost the adoption of payment gateways in Indian real estate. As more buyers get comfortable transacting online, payment gateways will become integral for real estate companies.
