We believe renters deserve more choice, control and visibility over their rent and bill payments.

That’s why we’ve made it easier for agencies to offer a broader range of payment methods to renters, including the ability to pay by bank account, Centrepay, debit card or even credit card if you want to boost your rewards points

Each payment method offers a different experience and some have different fees associated with them. Importantly, you will always have a fee-free way to pay your rent.

Broadly, there are two ways to pay rent:

If your agency has moved to Ailo, then this post will help you understand your options both on and off the Ailo mobile app.

In your Ailo app, there are four ways to pay your rent. You have the choice to make a manual bank account payment from your app, or you can securely save your payment details – using a bank account, debit card, or credit card – to manage your payments.

Traditionally, some property managers would ask renters to pay their entire rent and associated bills up to 6 days early to deal with clearing times. But when you use any of Ailo’s on-app payment methods, rent is considered paid the instant you tap “confirm” in your app – or, at 1am on the relevant day if you set up recurring payments on a schedule.

Simply type in your bank account details, and Ailo will debit your account for the amount you nominate. You will need to re-enter your bank account details and the amount each time you’d like to make a payment.

Because of the way the banking system works, funds will be debited from your nominated account between 7pm and midnight on the day you initiate the payment, and will take 2 days to clear. The clearing status is shown in the app. Importantly, this clearing time does not affect the date you are deemed to have made the payment.

Some renters use this payment method, because they do not want to have a regular payment schedule for their payments and instead prefer to manually initiate their own payments when it is convenient for them. There are no fees associated with manual bank account payments. Some renters do not pay their full rent in one payment and take advantage of the fact they can make as many free payments as they like in any amount.

This involves Ailo debiting your saved bank account – either as a one-off payment or recurring.

If you’d like to set up automatic schedule payments (called “autopay” in the Ailo app) from your bank account, you can set the schedule to match your rent cycle, or on another schedule if that is your preference.

You can also manage this payment method directly and update or cancel the payment schedule whenever you want through your app.

Because of the way the banking system works, funds will be debited from your nominated account between 7pm and midnight on the day you initiate the payment, and will take 2 days to clear. The clearing status is shown in the app. Importantly, this clearing time does not affect the date you are deemed to have made the payment.

The fee for paying rent with recurring direct debits is 0.25%. This fee is waived for eligible concession card holders, and Ailo absorbs the fees associated with these transactions. We’ve found most renters choose to set up automatic scheduled payments from their bank account, so they don’t have to worry about getting their rent in on time.

Eligible concession cards include a Pensioner Concession Card issued by the Department of Veterans' Affairs or Services Australia, a Health Care Card issued by Services Australia, a Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold Card, or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

Credit cards and debit cards are instant payments, which means the transaction will be immediately authorised, and you will see that it has cleared at the end of the next full hour.

You can either make payments on a one-off basis, or save your card details and set up recurring payments to pay on a schedule. If you set up recurring payments, you can manage the update or cancel the payment schedule whenever you want through the Ailo app.

The fee for paying with a credit card is 1.5%, and the fee for paying with a debit card is 0.95%.

Some renters use credit cards to earn points or to manage their own cash flow. Some use cards because they like instant payments.

There are also a number of ways to pay your rent and bills without downloading Ailo’s mobile app. Some of these are facilitated by Ailo, and some are arranged by your agency.

If your rent is paid or otherwise supported by an employer, a government agency or a community organisation, Ailo will work with you to set up a payment method that is convenient for you that does not involve any fees (Ailo will absorb the fees associated with these transactions).

If you’re a Centrelink customer, you can set up your rent payments in Centrepay and have the rent paid directly from Centrelink. Ailo is the first and only payments platform in the industry to fully integrate with Centrelink. This payment method is free for renters. Instead, the agency or landlord will absorb a $0.99 transaction fee charged by Centrelink, and Ailo absorbs the subsequent transaction fees involved with this method.

For renters who cannot or do not want to pay rent using the Ailo mobile app, you can ask your agency for a direct debit authorisation form instead, and the service fee will still apply unless you are a concession card holder.

In addition to all of these payment options, your agency may offer additional methods including the option to pay directly into their trust account. These decisions are for the agency.

Importantly, your agency does not earn any commission or payments from Ailo. They simply want to give you a broader range of payment options that work for you.