How to Collect Service Charges Online: Cards, Bank Transfers and Matching

Online maintenance-fee collection is when a resident pays their maintenance fee and shared-expense debt by credit card, debit card or bank transfer/EFT without coming to the management office, and the payment is automatically posted to the debt record. In a well-set-up system, the amount paid by card goes directly to the management's bank account through the payment provider, transfers are matched to the relevant unit from bank transactions, and in both cases the receipt is generated without the manager lifting a finger.

In this article we explain the ways a residential compound or apartment building management can collect monthly maintenance fees, the pros and cons of each method, what needs to be prepared before moving to card payments, and how to set up the first month. The legal process against unit owners who don't pay is a separate topic; we covered it in our article on service-charge debt collection.

What methods are used to collect maintenance fees?

Most property managers don't rely on a single method. In an 80-unit residential compound, an elderly owner prefers to pay in person, a working tenant sends a bank transfer from their mobile banking app, and younger residents pay by card on their phone. The manager's job is to record every payment — however it arrives — in the same dues ledger and on the same day.

Cash and manual receipts

This is the oldest method. The resident hands the money to the manager or a staff member and receives a receipt in return. It is still common in small apartment buildings; however, cash piling up in the safe, receipt books getting lost and "but I already paid" arguments are the well-known problems with this method. If cash is accepted, receipts must be issued as numbered entries in the system and the money collected must be deposited at the bank promptly.

Bank transfer / EFT

This is the most common method today. The resident sends money to the management's IBAN and writes the block and apartment number in the payment reference. The problem is that the reference is often missing or incorrect. In a 120-unit residential compound, more than a hundred bank transfers arrive every month, and working out which unit each one belongs to takes hours. We covered the bank integration that makes this easier in detail in our article on service-charge reconciliation with bank integration.

Online card payment

Residents view their balance in the app or web panel and pay by credit or debit card. Payment is verified with 3D Secure, and the moment it is approved the balance is cleared and a receipt is generated. The biggest difference for management is that reconciliation is no longer needed: the payment arrives already knowing which unit it came from and which charge it covers.

Automatic payment mandate

This is the method that saves residents from repeating the transaction every month. It can be set up as a standing order at the bank or as recurring collection with a card stored at the payment provider. The resident approves once, and payment happens automatically on the due date. Residents should be clearly told which charges the mandate covers, how to cancel it, and what happens when the card expires. If the maintenance fee changes during the year, fixed-amount bank mandates produce under- or overpayments, so a mandate based on the current balance is preferable.

What are the pros and cons of each collection method?

Whose account does a fee paid by card go into?

This is the question managers and auditors ask most often — and rightly so. In a properly set up system, the money does not sit in the software company's account. The model used is the "sub-merchant" model: the licensed payment institution registers each management as a separate sub-merchant under its own umbrella. When a resident pays by card, the payment institution transfers the collected amount directly to that management's registered bank account. The day the transfer is made depends on the payment institution's settlement schedule.

This structure has two benefits for management. First, the money collected for common expenses is tracked end to end in the management's own account; the audit committee or unit owners can see every card payment by checking the bank statement. Second, no receivable arises between the software company and the management; even if you decide to switch software, the dues collected are already in your account.

What should you prepare before starting online maintenance fee collection?

• A bank account in the management's name. Maintenance fees should never be collected into a manager's personal account. An account opened under the tax ID number issued to the apartment building or residential compound management is essential both for payment-institution compliance and for accountability.
• Letter of authorization. The owners' association resolution appointing the manager and the minutes in the decision book must be ready. The payment institution asks, in the sub-merchant definition, who represents the management.
• Up-to-date debt list. The debts offered for online payment must be accurate. Sending a resident a payment link before prior-period balances and opening debts are entered into the system creates disputes.
• Approved operating budget. The maintenance fee is based on the operating budget. Billing must follow this budget; for details, see the article on how maintenance fees are calculated.
• Resident contact details. If mobile numbers and email addresses are out of date, reminders and receipts won't reach the resident.

How secure are online maintenance fee payments?

Security should be considered on three levels. The first is card verification: with 3D Secure, the resident confirms the payment using the one-time code sent by their card-issuing bank. Even if the card details are compromised, the transaction cannot be completed without the code.

The second is where card data is stored. The card number, expiry date and security code should be entered on the payment provider's secure payment page. Property management software does not need to store this data in its own database, and it should not. Organizations that process card data are subject to PCI DSS, the card industry's security standard.

The third is personal data. A resident's name, phone number, apartment and debt information are personal data under Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK). Residents must be given a privacy notice, debt information must be visible only to authorized management staff, and it must be traceable who viewed which record. Sharing a bulk debt list in the building's WhatsApp group is a habit to avoid in this respect.

When a payment is made, how is the debt closed and how is the receipt created?

With card payment the process is short: the resident selects the debt, pays, the payment provider returns an approval and the amount is applied to the relevant debt immediately. A receipt is generated automatically and appears in the resident's account. The manager does not need to enter anything separately.

A bank transfer involves two steps. First, the bank transaction arrives in the system, then it is matched to the relevant unit and debt. Once the match is approved, the debt is closed and a receipt is generated. For example, if the owner of unit 12 in Block B, whose maintenance fee is 1,750 TL, sends a transfer with only "October fee" in the description, the system suggests a match by looking at the sender's name, the amount and previous payments from the same IBAN; the manager approves it with a single click.

Partial and overpayments must be recorded too. If 1,000 TL is paid against a 1,750 TL debt, that amount is deducted and the remaining 750 TL shows as outstanding. If 3,500 TL is sent, the excess is credited to the payer's account and offset against next month's service charge. Setting these rules up front eliminates the end-of-period question of "where did that money go?"

How should maintenance fee reminders be sent to residents?

Offering online payment alone doesn't increase collection; residents still need to remember their payment date. A setup that works looks like this: a short reminder three days before the due date, a payment link with the amount due on the due date, and a late-payment notice one week after. Reminders can go out by SMS, email and app notification. Each message should state the amount, period and payment method clearly, and residents with no outstanding balance should never receive one. Delivering the receipt to the resident after payment builds the trust that makes next month's payment easier.

How do you set up online maintenance fee collection in the first month?

1. Clarify the bank account. Decide which management account and IBAN fees will be collected into, and set a cut-off date for payments made to old personal accounts.
2. Complete the unit and people records. For each unit, enter the owner and, if applicable, the tenant, along with phone number and email address.
3. Enter opening balances. Outstanding debts and credits from previous periods should be posted before the first billing run.
4. Set up maintenance-fee billing. Define the monthly fee and due date based on the approved operating budget.
5. Register as a payment institution. Do not announce card payments to residents until the management's sub-merchant registration is complete.
6. Connect bank transactions. For residents who pay by bank transfer, make sure bank transactions flow into the system regularly.
7. Keep residents informed. Send a short announcement explaining how to download the app, where to check their balance and what to write in the transfer reference.
8. Check after the first due date. At the end of the month, review unmatched transfers, outstanding debts and refund requests, and fix the step that went wrong for the following month.

How does Çözüm Hanem handle online maintenance-fee collection?

With Çözüm Hanem, residents pay their monthly maintenance fees and shared expenses from the Resident app or the web portal by credit or debit card with 3D Secure verification. The payment infrastructure is provided by iyzico Ödeme Hizmetleri A.Ş., licensed by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye. Each property is registered as a separate sub-merchant with iyzico, and funds are transferred directly to that property's bank account. Card details are entered on iyzico's secure payment page; Çözüm Hanem does not store card numbers. Payments are posted to the debt record instantly, and the receipt appears in the resident's account. In the case of incorrect or duplicate payments, the amount is refunded to the card.

For payments received by bank transfer, bank transactions are pulled automatically and suggested for matching to the relevant unit and debt on the bank reconciliation screen; the debt is closed once the manager approves. Payment reminders can be sent by SMS, e-mail, Telegram and app notification. The resident app is free for residents. You can see all features on the features page and open an account with Get Started for compounds of up to 500 units.

Summary

• Online maintenance fee collection runs on cards, bank transfers/EFTs and automatic payment mandates all posting to the same receivables ledger.
• Amounts paid by card should go directly to management's bank account through the sub-merchant model, not sit on the platform.
• 3D Secure, keeping card data with the payment provider, and KVKK-compliant role separation are the foundation of security.
• A card payment settles the debt instantly; bank transfers are matched from bank transactions and approved, and a receipt is generated automatically in both cases.
• Month one: set up the account, records, opening balances, billing, payment provider configuration and resident announcement, in that order.