JP Morgan launches Story, an online real estate management platform that simplifies rent collection for property owners and landlords

J.P. Morgan has quietly rolled out an online real estate management platform that let property owners, landlords, and managers automate the invoicing and receipt of online rent payments.

Called Story, the all-in-one platform helps to make payments stress-free for property owners and tenants. Story also streamlines monthly rent collection through flexible payment methods, improves cash flow with fast transfers, and automates invoicing for tenants.

JPMorgan said about 78% of tenants are still making their monthly payments using old-school checks and money orders. The Wall Street giant is betting that property owners and tenants are finally ready to do away with paper checks and embrace digital payments. Over 100 million Americans still pay a combined $500 billion annually in rent, the bank said.

“The vast majority of rent payments are still done through checks,” Yen said in a recent interview. “If you talk to residents to this day, they often say ‘The only reason I have a checkbook still is to pay my rent.’ So there are lots of opportunities to provide efficiencies there.”

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According to the website, landlords and property owners can oversee all their properties in one place, so they can spot problems and act quickly. The site also enables them to view and “track the status of rent payments, security deposits, and lease agreements with automated recordkeeping.”

In May, commercial banking CEO Doug Petno told analysts that JPMorgan is hoping to move beyond just making loans to property owners to eventually capture “a significant portion” of the $500 billion in annual rent payments with its software.

“We’ve been investing to build comprehensive payments and rent solutions capabilities specifically for our multifamily clients,” Petno said. “In doing this, we hope to create an entirely new and substantial revenue opportunity for our business.”

The platform also offers incentives and benefits for property owners. JPMorgan has partnered with TransUnion to provide up to 70% discount on tenant screenings with TransUnion SmartMove, which includes credit, criminal, and eviction reports.

Any interested property owners or landlords can request a demo at https://story.jpmorgan.com/story-demo-request