Property services company Asteco has launched a digital payment service that allows tenants to pay their rent their direct debit.
According to Asteco, the move is designed to increase efficiency, enhance the ease of doing business and help customers save time.
To design the system, Asteco partnered with National Bank of Fujairah and UAE-based alternative payment systems provider Direct Debit System FZ LLE. As the sponsoring bank, National Bank of Fujairah is facilitating the process and ensuring seamless account reconciliation.
Using the system, tenants sign a Direct Debit Authority (DDA) document with Asteco as a one-time step. Payments are then debited from the tenant’s current or savings account or credit card at the agreed date and frequency and deposited into the landlord’s account.
“As our world becomes increasingly digital, Asteco is working closely with its partners to embrace innovation and contribute to creating an efficiency and secure financial environment in Dubai for long-term residents and newcomers alike,” said Asteco executive chairman Elaine Jones.
“In line with the Smart Dubai 2021 strategy, we aim to become a paperless entity by the end of 2019 and this initiative is the first step in the journey.”
Jones added that she believes the system “will maximise efficiency and seamlessly integrate this service into our operations to create the most enriched business experience possible for our clients, and immediately positively impact the real estate sector in the UAE.”
Jones added that Asteco believes that direct debit is a solution to many of the problems inherent with post-dated rent cheques, including allowing tenants to pay rent in multiple installments that ease the cash flow for tenants that currently often resort to taking out loans to meet their rent commitments.
According to Worldpay, a global payment processing company, alternative payments accounted for approximately 59 percent of settlement activity in 2017, up from 43 percent in 2012.
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