Showing posts with label house rent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house rent. Show all posts

Monday, May 4, 2020

How Credit Cards Can Help Tenants During Coronavirus Epidemic

More and more people are adopting digital payments to pay rent to their landlords. And while paying digitally, credit card is the best option as it not only gives reward points but also free credit period.

The nationwide lockdown has required a lot of lifestyle changes for many of us and has shown us our ability to adapt to change. It has initiated some very welcome steps in our day-to-day lives and has changed traditional ways of doing things.

Let us look at the change that has come to the real estate industry in a few days. The changes that industry giants envisioned will only happen in the distant future. For example, we have come a long way from the time when a trip to a physical property was mandatory to finalize an asset. Today there are many customers who have finalized a property for rent through a video walkthrough!

The most sensational aspect of the change is the payment of rent through credit card. But the current situation required customers to move faster in the process. Rent is the biggest monthly expense for most of us these days. And while paying rent through credit cards helps us win a lot of reward points and cannot be stressed enough at this point, Indian consumers have been slow to catch the trend. However, three factors have catalyzed the adoption of this method - a buffer period offering credit card payments, fear or inability to handle cash payments, and, unfortunately, fear of layoffs. 

Many state governments have urged landlords not to take rent from tenants for the months of March-May 2020 as the epidemic has affected the livelihoods of many people. But it cannot be enforced, and it is up to individual landlords to pay a three-month rent or postpone it or take out the middle ground.
There has been a sudden increase in the number of people availing the service of paying rent through credit cards. Credit cards offer a much needed buffer period or flexibility for tenants to make payments. This ensures that rent is paid to the landlords on time and the tenants do not have to face liquidity crisis. They get a free loan period of about 45 days.

Most customers do not want to conduct any cash transactions for fear of infection with notes. Furthermore, the lockdown has ensured that no one can physically move out of their homes. This is why more and more people are adopting digital payments to pay rent to their landlords. And while paying digitally, credit card is the best option as it not only gives reward points but also free credit period.

We are going through difficult times and many companies are unsure whether they will have to let go to keep employees away because the current situation has a huge business impact. Paying rent through credit cards matters a lot in such a scenario, as the current crisis is temporary, and it makes sense to have additional liquidity until more clarity comes. Until things return to normal, and the state of the economy improves, it is prudent to take advantage of liquidity that digitization has opened up.

It is worth seeing the silver layer with the clouds of darkness. The way the infection has occurred may not be the best, the cause of the infection may be the worst ever but it has helped the Indian people take a giant leap. The epidemic has set the pace more disciplined and a more efficient way of closing transactions. Once the situation gets better and we hope that it will be real soon, then we will enter a more efficient, a more digitally equipped era and it will only be for our benefit.