You email the applicant from the website and they approve the check and pay the fee in advance on the website for you:https://www.mysmartmove.com/$30 background credit check paid for by applicant or landlord (your choice)http://www.rentingauthority.com/$25 paid by applicant, emails approval to applicant to pay with cc and includes electronic application form too.

It also puts the onus on them to actually send it back to me with the reduced rent (have not given one to someone that pays electronically yet).I got the idea from a landlord blog a few years back but can't tell you exactly where.

Hi,  I personally don't give anything, if I do it's electronic card or something simple.

@Karen Margrave,Effective March 1, 2013: Social Security Checks will stop Coming via the US Mail.Here are a few links concerning that:No more Paper Checks for Social Security effective March 1, 2013No More Paper Checks for Social Security effective March 1, 2013Also,When I signed up for my SS retirement check, they Informed me that I would receive the Electronic Payment on the 9th of the Month.

Most people (reasonably) expect that an electronic transfer is immediate.

Do you boycott everything electronic because one of its founding inventors was a racist ("the fruit of the poisonous tree")?

If you have time on you side you can order onlinefrom electronics   supplier like digikey or mouser. 

Some providers have features that are designed to make it easier for IRA real estate investors: features like free online bill pay or the ability for your IRA’s renters to pay their rent electronically. 

It's always good to make it as easy as possible, and the biggest improvement I've made is going all electronic in terms of collecting rent.  

We provide them with an electronic copy of the bill each month and every three months we reconcile.If there is a deficit in the account we invoice them and payment is due with the following month's rent {this has only happened twice when we carried the electricity and natural gas and there was a very cold winter ... normally we set the monthly utility contribution high enough this does no occur}.