JPMorgan Chase Takes Initiative in Abandoning Checks

According to JPMorgan Chase’s Sam Yen, most residences today state that the reason they still have a checkbook is to simply pay the rent. The bank is launching a platform for property owners that will automate invoicing and receipts of online payments, the next step in digital payment transition.

The initiative comes out of its commercial banking division, and will look to offer data analysis on rent levels and potential guidance for future purchases.

Landlords are likely some of the last holdouts in printed checks at that magnitude, and JPMorgan Chase is betting it will not take long to change.

While digital payments are rapidly taking over, the Covid pandemic has only accelerated the process and made the transition one of the key focuses of the banking industry. The initiative will not likely effect landlords with four or five tenants, but the midsize landlord having between 10 and 100 tenants are prime for a 2023 transition.

The number of printed checks in that category could go from close to 80% to 20% by 2024 according several real estate analysts. The rental industry is a $500 billion industry in the United States alone.

The working name for the software is called Story and will look to be the leading property management solution looking to dramatically cut down on the tedious rent collection process. JPMorgan Chase does have a number of competitors in the space, but it is an open market in terms of dominant market share.

The initiative by the bank shows that large banks are looking to create solutions internally rather than looking for outside solutions to banking issues for their clients.