ACH vs Card Rent Collection: Fees, Trade-offs, and What Landlords Should Choose

When a tenant pays rent through Tenantivo, Stripe creates a PaymentIntent for the base rent plus any processing and Tenantivo service fees you have configured. The tenant sees a single total on the confirmation screen; you see the split in the Payments workspace and in your Stripe Connect payout.

Three levers make ACH vs card a business decision, not just a technical one:

• Processing cost — Card fees are percentage-based with a fixed per-transaction component. ACH fees are lower flat-plus-percent formulas that vary by your Tenantivo subscription tier.
• Settlement timing — Card charges typically confirm immediately. ACH debits can sit in Processing or RequiresAction while the bank verifies the account, then complete asynchronously when Stripe receives confirmation.
• Tenant behavior — Cards are familiar and fast to add; bank accounts require verification (micro-deposits or instant verification) but cost less per payment and are the natural fit for recurring auto-pay.

Your goal is not to eliminate cards entirely — some tenants will only pay that way — but to set defaults and fee absorption rules so the method that costs you least is also the easiest path for reliable payers.

Tenants add payment methods from the tenant portal (Payments → Payment Method): a debit or credit card via Stripe’s card element, or a US bank account via ACH (us_bank_account). Both can be used for one-time rent payments, partial payments (when you allow them), application deposits, and auto-pay enrollment.

Card payments

• Tenant selects a saved card or enters a new one at checkout.
• Stripe may prompt for 3D Secure authentication on some cards; status shows as RequiresAction until the tenant completes it.
• On success, the payment moves to Completed and posts to the tenant ledger.

ACH / bank account payments

• Tenant links a bank account through Stripe’s bank flow (routing and account number go directly to Stripe, not your server).
• Verification may be instant or require micro-deposits; until verified, the account cannot be charged off-session (including auto-pay).
• ACH often shows Processing before Stripe marks the PaymentIntent succeeded; webhooks update the final status in Tenantivo.

Tenantivo calculates a processing fee from the payment method and your organization’s subscription tier (ACH only; card uses one rate for all tiers). A separate Tenantivo service fee is added when Tenant pays Tenantivo service fee is enabled in Payment & Stripe settings. That service fee is included in the tenant checkout total whether or not Stripe Connect onboarding is fully complete; Connect controls where the rent portion is routed, not whether the service fee line applies.

Tenant total = rent + processing fee (if tenant pays) + Tenantivo service fee (if tenant pays). All dollar amounts below use $1,000 rent and match the formulas shown on the Pricing page and in the Payment & Stripe fee preview.

Processing fees (percent + fixed apply to rent only)

• Card (all tiers): 2.9% + $0.30 on the rent amount. On $1,000 rent, that is $29.30.
• ACH — Starter tier: 1% + $1.00. On $1,000 rent, that is $11.00.
• ACH — Landlord, Investor, and Portfolio tiers: 0.8% + $0.50. On $1,000 rent, that is $8.50.

Card vs ACH processing on $1,000 rent: ACH (Landlord+ tier) saves $20.80 ($29.30 − $8.50); ACH (Starter tier) saves $18.30 ($29.30 − $11.00). The Tenantivo service fee below is method-based on Landlord+ (not the same dollar amount on both rails).

Processing only (Tenant pays Tenantivo service fee is off; tenant pays processing)

• Card: $1,000 + $29.30 = $1,029.30
• ACH (Landlord+ tier): $1,000 + $8.50 = $1,008.50
• ACH (Starter tier): $1,000 + $11.00 = $1,011.00

With Tenantivo service fee (Tenant pays processing fee and Tenant pays Tenantivo service fee both on):

Landlord / Investor / Portfolio (method-based service fee):

• ACH: $8.50 processing + $1.50 service fee = $10.00 total fees → tenant pays $1,010.00
• Card: $29.30 processing + $6.00 service fee (0.6%) = $35.30 total fees → tenant pays $1,035.30 (matches a published 3.5% + $0.30 card total)

Starter (percent-based service fee; example at 1% of rent = $10 on $1,000):

• ACH: $1,000 + $11.00 + $10.00 = $1,021.00
• Card is not offered on the public Starter plan (ACH only)

Investor and Portfolio tiers use the same Landlord+ payment fee policy. Starter keeps the configured percent-based service fee. See Pricing for $1,500 examples.

Don’t rely on back-of-napkin math at go-live. The fee preview on Account portal → Configuration → Payment & Stripe shows tenant total, processing fee, Tenantivo service fee, and landlord net against a sample $1,000 charge for both card and ACH before you save.

There is no universal winner — but there are clear patterns that work for most small and mid-size landlords:

Favor ACH when…

• Tenants enroll in auto-pay and you want predictable, low-cost recurring debits.
• You operate on thin margins and processing fees materially affect NOI.
• You are on a Landlord+ tier where ACH formulas are most competitive.
• You can tolerate one to three business days for settlement and occasional bank verification steps.

Cards still make sense when…

• A tenant needs to pay immediately to cure a late balance or hold a unit.
• Move-in deposits or one-time application fees are paid before a bank account is verified.
• You would rather pay the higher fee than lose a payment because a tenant will not link a bank account.
• International or non-standard banking situations make ACH impractical (US bank accounts only).

A practical hybrid policy: require ACH for auto-pay, allow cards for one-time payments, and pass card processing fees to the tenant while subsidizing or absorbing ACH. That nudges behavior without blocking anyone who only has a card on move-in day.

Payment method is only half the story. These Payment & Stripe settings shape how ACH and card behave across your portfolio:

• Accept payments (master switch) — Pause all tenant charges during a dispute or account review without disconnecting Stripe.
• Allow auto-pay — Gate recurring rent; tenants with a verified bank account or card can enroll from their Payments page.
• Allow partial payments — When on, a tenant can pay less than a scheduled line; the remainder stays pending. When off, they must pay the full amount (reduces card fee churn on micro-payments).
• Fee absorption toggles — Control whether processing and Tenantivo service fees appear on the tenant checkout or come out of your net.
• Payment failure notification email — Alert your team when a card is declined or an ACH debit fails so you can intervene before late fees stack up.

Manual payments (checks, money orders) still post through the Payments workspace without Stripe fees — useful for tenants who refuse electronic methods, but they do not replace the need for a clear online default.

Rent collection in Tenantivo follows a straight path from tenant checkout to your bank:

1. Complete Stripe Connect onboarding during organization setup so rent, deposits, and auto-pay route to your connected account. See the New Organization setup guide.
2. Configure Payment & Stripe defaults on the Account portal (fee preview, auto-pay, partial payments, who pays fees).
3. Tenants pay from the portal; managers reconcile in Tenants → Payments (All Payments, Pending, Completed, application payments, and manual entries).
4. Payout timing and Stripe balance details appear on the Stripe screen described in Managing Rental Income and Payouts.

Every charge records method (card vs bank account), processing fee, Tenantivo service fee when applicable, and status — so you can answer “why was this tenant charged $1,035.30 instead of $1,000?” from the ledger, not from guesswork.

The fee formulas are tier-aware for ACH processing and method-based for the Tenantivo service fee on Landlord+; they are covered by automated tests in the solution so changes to subscription tiers do not silently drift from what the portal displays.

ACH is cheaper; cards are faster and more familiar. Most portfolios should optimize for ACH on recurring rent while keeping cards available for edge cases, use the fee preview to set expectations before tenants see checkout, and pass card processing costs to tenants when your market allows it.

Tenantivo does not force one rail — it gives you transparent math, configurable absorption, and a single Payments workspace to see how each method performed. Pick the policy that matches your margins, then let the portal nudge tenants toward the lower-cost option without turning away anyone who shows up with a card on lease signing day.