Securing your trust funds: How PayProp protects every Rand you manage

Trust account security isn’t just an IT issue, it’s critical to your business’s survival. With everything else on your plate as a rental property practitioner, it’s good to know that with PayProp as you payment provider, you’re covered.

Protecting client funds: It’s the job.

In property rentals, you don’t just move money, you guard it.

Protecting rent payments, deposits, landlord floats and maintenance funds down to the last cent builds your clients’ trust in you. That trust is your greatest asset, and once lost, it’s almost impossible to win back.

And yet it’s so easy to put a foot wrong, and a single breach can undo so many years of hard work. One phishing e-mail, one leaked password, one careless click and suddenly, without the right protection, your trust account could be compromised, client funds missing, and your name circulating for all the wrong reasons. The financial hit will hurt, but the reputational damage can be fatal.

As a fellow property practitioner working under rental estate agents’ mandate, we understand that your focus is on properties, landlords, tenants and everything that helps your business to grow. At the same time, you need to ensure that you comply with the requirements of the Property Practitioners Act, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, the Rental Housing Act, the Protection of Personal Information Act, and many more pieces of legislation. The burden weighs heavily when all you want is to focus on what moves the dial, but you’re painfully aware that these rules do still apply, and failing to comply can result in fines, the revocation of your Fidelity Fund Certificate, or even the loss of your right to trade.

That’s why trust fund security is essential to your business.

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Multi-factor authentication: Your first line of defence

‍PayProp’s latest  upgrade of multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access your account, ensures only registered account users can access your account. It’s simple, quick, and powerful to enter a username and password and confirm your identity with a one-time code sent to your registered e-mail or cell phone. Even if your password falls into the wrong hands, no one can access your system without that second factor only you possess.  

This small extra step stops most online fraud before it even starts. It limits credential theft, prevents unauthorised access, and keeps your trust account under your team’s control, where it belongs.  

MFA isn’t just a feature – it’s a verified safeguard, built into a system trusted by the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority to protect your clients’ funds.
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The power of PayProp’s protection:

But MFA is just the beginning. Beyond authentication, PayProp builds security into every other layer of account – 256-bit-strong encryption of transaction flows and account views within the banking environment, detailed account setup and transaction permissions, and crucially, ringfencing of your clients’ funds, never to be mixed with your business money or co-mingled between landlords.

That client fund separation allows us to process and account for your money with supreme accuracy and reliability, whether receiving it, reconciling it, distributing or reporting it – four simple steps that no other provider can match, but that keep your books perfect:

1. Receive – PayProp’s bank integration means every Rand sent to your trust account is accounted for instantly.

2. Reconcile – PayProp matches every cent to the right property and marks it against the right tenant.

3. Distribute – According to your rules, you can automatically settle your fees, and pay your landlords and your contractors.  

4. Report – You and your team see one clear dashboard with rent rolls, commissions, costs and any tenant arrears you need to chase – everything, per property, in real time.

That means no surprises, no missing money, and zero stress when your auditor or a regulatory body calls.

Every action, payment and login is moreover tracked in a tamper-proof audit log – undeletable, even by PayProp – so you know where every Rand is, 24/7. Bank-grade encryption, multi-level authentication, dual-approval workflows and role-based permissions keep transactions transparent and accountable.

PayProp is one of very few platforms officially audited and licensed by the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) as a Payment Processing Agent. In our latest trust account controls audit (Regulation 30), every one of our controls passed muster with “no exceptions”, from undeletable audit logs to instant reports for your auditor.  

We’re also doubly regulated – as a registered Payment Processing Agent under the PPRA and a Third Party Payment Provider under the Payment Association of South Africa (PASA).
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Your team on the frontline

But is great tech and superb security enough? Spoiler, no.

Even the best systems need expert operators, and security isn’t “set and forget.” But we’ve got your back there too: PayProp’s Masterclass webinars, dedicated onboarding, and ongoing training help your team from A to Z – from spotting a phishing expedition to reconciling daily like a pro and keeping accounts secure no matter what.

Our award-winning platform may give you the tools, but ultimately the best property practitioners know it’s how you use it that shows clients you’re taking their security seriously.
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Protect your trust funds

So don’t wait for a breach to test your defences, and don’t try to do it on your own. Be ahead of the rest with PayProp’s MFA, PPRA/PASA compliance and global security standards, knowing every Rand is tracked and secured – automatically.

Most importantly, enjoy the freedom to focus on growing your portfolio, winning mandates and delighting landlords and tenants while PayProp guards your trust funds. To get this level of protection for your agency, book a demo with our expert team.

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