Paying Rent Online? If Not, Here’s Why You Should Start

Want to boost your credit score? Try paying rent online! In 2017, TransUnion studied 12,000 renters who reported their rent payments to credit bureaus over the course of a year. The results? Renters’ scores rose an average of 16 points within six months, and the benefit was greatest for those who started with the lowest scores. 

Make an online rent payment each month and see what happens to your credit score! Paying online ensures your payments are reported, shows credit bureaus what they are looking for, and can combine with credit card payments to increase your score even more. Here’s how.

Your Payments Are Reported

What’s special about paying rent online? Well, “Simply paying your rent will not help you build credit,”  says Bev O’Shea at NerdWallet. “But reporting your rent payments can help you build credit—especially if you are new to credit or do not have a lot of experience using it.”

At Washington Place Apartments , we have an online rental payment system that reports information to the credit bureaus. When they receive a record of your on-time rental payments, your credit score improves.

Shows Credit Bureaus What They Are Looking For

If you’re wondering how rental payments factor into a credit score, keep reading. First, let’s talk about what goes into a credit score in general. For one example, Experian determines credit scores through the following elements :

So when you pay rent online, those payments become part of your payment history. As you pay on time and in full and continue to do so, that contributes to your score, too.

Boost Your Score Even More

To take this credit-score-boosting to the next level, consider using a credit card specifically to pay your rent.

“Open a credit card and use it to pay your rent . . . then pay your credit card balance in full each month,” says LaToya Irby, credit expert for The Balance. “The timely credit card payments will help boost your credit score.”

You don’t have to pay your rent with a credit card, but it can be an extra boost to your credit score in combination with the benefits of paying your rent online.

Improve your credit score by paying rent online  through the resident portal . This allows your payments to be reported to credit bureaus, showing them exactly what they are looking for. Plus, if you choose to pay rent with a credit card, you may increase your score even more. Give it a try!