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US: Property management software provider Guesty has partnered with Column to offer eligible vacation rental property managers access to banking services designed around trust accounting and owner funds.
The initial partnership will allow eligible Guesty customers to open deposit and trust accounts with Column, a nationally chartered US bank.
The accounts include the ability to separate trust and operating funds, establish role-based permissions and introduce approval controls. Owner funds may also qualify for pass-through Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC] protection, subject to the relevant requirements and limits.
Property managers will have access to Column’s application programming interfaces, allowing them to develop automated banking processes. Column will also provide support through a team focused on property management banking.
The launch is intended to address the financial responsibilities involved in managing vacation rentals, which can include collecting guest payments, holding money on behalf of owners, paying suppliers and reconciling transactions received through different booking channels.
Yair Holtzer, chief revenue officer at Guesty, said: “Property managers are already running sophisticated financial operations inside Guesty. Their banking should be able to keep up.”
Guesty already offers payment, accounting, owner financial management and capital products through its platform. The Column partnership adds access to separate banking infrastructure for eligible customers.
The companies plan to develop a deeper native integration between their platforms. Proposed features include automated bank reconciliation for trust accounting and faster owner distributions, although these functions are not part of the initial launch and no release date has been announced.
Column operates its own banking core and ledger and connects directly with payment networks. The company said it processes more than $4.5 trillion in transaction volume annually and provides infrastructure to financial technology companies including Brex, Bilt, Mercury and Wise.
Guesty provides property management technology for more than 500,000 properties across over 100 countries.
Highlights
- Guesty has partnered with nationally chartered US bank Column.
- Eligible Guesty customers can access deposit and trust accounts designed for property management.
- The accounts can separate owner funds from operating money.
- Role-based permissions and approval controls are available.
- Pass-through FDIC insurance may apply to eligible owner funds, subject to requirements and limits.
- Guesty and Column plan to develop automated trust-account reconciliation.
- Faster owner distributions are also planned for a later phase.
- The deeper Guesty integration is not included in the initial launch.
