NEWS RELEASE
PropertyBridge Announces Grand Prize Winner of Resident Sweepstakes
Participating clients see residents nearly double their use of electronic payments
OAKLAND, Calif. (February 10, 2010) — PropertyBridge, Inc., a MoneyGram company and a leading provider of electronic payment services to the residential real estate management industry, today announced the results and grand prize winner of its $10,000 Resident Sweepstakes program .
- More than 250,000 entries were received during the promotion period, across thousands of apartment communities nationwide
- Sweepstakes properties saw residents nearly double their use of electronic payments on average during the six-month promotion.
- Nineteen residents awarded more than $15,000 in prizes at properties managed by AIMCO, Westdale Asset Management, McKinley Inc., Alliance Residential, E&S Ring Management, and 1st Lake Properties
- Molly Charpentier, resident of Heritage Park Senior Community in Alta Loma, Calif. won the PropertyBridge Resident Sweepstakes $10,000 grand prize
"PropertyBridge designed the Resident Sweepstakes to provide its clients an opportunity to promote and market electronic payments in a meaningful way,” said Vicki Keller, PropertyBridge vice president. “We help each management company independently promote the sweepstakes, including free printed marketing materials to increase resident awareness.”
Charpentier was surprised to learn she had won the grand prize for her automatic, recurring ACH payments she started in 2009. “When my property manager called with the news I almost fell to the floor! Never in my wildest dreams did I think this could happen to me, especially just for paying my rent,” Charpentier said.
Charpentier’s resident community, Heritage Park Senior Community, is managed by AIMCO, one of the largest owners and operators of apartment homes in the country.
“While there could only be one grand prize winner, we hope all residents who tried electronic payments found a system that is reliable and easy to use,” noted Keller. “Many people have changed the way they pay bills and PropertyBridge is excited to support the growth of electronic payment options in multifamily housing. Ultimately, our commitment to helping clients achieve high resident adoption is part of what makes PropertyBridge’s services so attractive to property managers and owners.”
McKinley Inc. was one of the property management companies that participated in PropertyBridge's Resident Sweepstakes. McKinley successfully transitioned 79 properties to PropertyBridge in 2009, utilizing PropertyBridge's check scanning, ACH, and credit/debit solutions. The company has aggressively promoted electronic payments, and currently boasts an adoption rate of well over 100% through a combination of online payments and electronically scanned paper checks. The adoption rate of greater than 100% is attributable to multiple payments collected per unit.
McKinley’s assistant vice president of business services, Kevin Winkelmann, said “We have been extremely pleased with the service and support from PropertyBridge, including the opportunity to participate in promotional programs like the 2009 Resident Sweepstakes. Resident awareness of online payment options combined with check scanners onsite at the properties make for a winning combination to achieve high electronic payment adoption and a strong return on investment."
The Sweepstakes, which began July 1, 2009 and ended December 31, 2009, entered residents of participating clients to win every time they paid rent with PropertyBridge. Residents could also enter by mail. In addition to the grand prize, monthly cash prizes of $500, $250, and $100 were awarded. Prizes were also awarded to community management teams with winning residents
About PropertyBridge
PropertyBridge, a MoneyGram company, is a leading electronic payments processor for property managers and real estate owners in the multifamily housing industry. The PropertyBridge Payments Platform enables residents to pay rent and other lease-related transactions using multiple payment types, including credit and debit cards, Automated Clearing House (ACH), check scanning (Check 21) and cash payments at approximately 40,000 MoneyGram agent locations. PropertyBridge’s rent payment solutions are fully integrated with the accounting systems and business processes of property management firms. Residents can pay rent online, by phone or in person and set up recurring payments. The company collaborates extensively with financial services leaders including Visa USA, MasterCard, Discover Financial Services, American Express, Wells Fargo Bank and First National Bank of Omaha. MoneyGram, Inc. acquired PropertyBridge in October 2007.
Contact
Summer Palma
PropertyBridge, Inc.
510-463-3033
spalma@moneygram.com
