HomeNet Payments: Revolutionizing the Building Management industry

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Name: Menny Shahar

Title:  Founder & CEO

Company: Homenet Payments

Website: www.Homenet.Org.Il

Founded: 2015

Headquarters: Hasharon, Israel

Description: HomeNet offers a software platform for payment collection and allocation for tenants, home owners and building committees


Revolutionizing the Building Management Industry

Menny Shahar is the CEO of HomeNet payments, a modern solution platform to better manage payments and fund collection from tenants, home owners and building committees. The platform offers full transparency for all stakeholders involved, including homeowners, tenants, committees and HOA (Home Owner Associations) members, ultimately drastically increasing overall trust and simplifying complex operational challenges. An expert in fintech space, Menny has built platforms from inception to production. Excerpts from an interview with him:

Conception of HomeNet Payments

“After years of observing this industry operating using pen and paper employing old methods, I decided that it is time to inject my passion and experience with technology to the real estate market.” Adds Menny that more specifically, maintenance and upkeep of apartment buildings is fraught with disputes over budgets and spending, and eliminating billing and bookkeeping from the process was the first step in making the overall experience for homeowners a more pleasant and productive one.

Fintech industry- Challenges galore

Menny believes that the key aspect to consider is the user experience when dealing with financial systems, now that we have greater work-life balance and the two are intertwined, we need to focus on “time to value” in a seamless and Integrated way. “HomeNet is not different, allowing the entire process of building management to occur from within a single app, with a few simple clicks, used by a non-technical userbase is a testament to how fruitful such a focus can be” he says.

HomeNet Payments solution

“The ability to track financial balance eliminates any payment delays and by-design also addresses recordkeeping challenges, all secured in one platform over the cloud, accessible from anywhere and on any device.” The ease of use of the platform and the business model of “Pay As You Go” (PAYG) is in line with this ethos, and the impact on the industry is fast adoption of the service and increased demand with new customers joining HomeNet every day.

Leadership traits

Menny believes in keeping things simple and honest. “I have worked in technology for many years and have always appreciated coming across solutions that are aligned to my needs rather than my technical aptitude. My rapport with my customers and the genuine way I approach business is evident in my dealings and I remain a phone call away for any of my customers with any need or concern.”

Tenacious, innovative, and a perfectionist, this entrepreneur is someone who thrives on challenges and is in pursuit of success with constant improvements, but without compromising on simplicity and ease of use for his customers. Menny also believes that failure is a natural part of life. “It’s the learning from failures that make us excel”.

 FinTech startups – The future ahead

FinTech startups with valuable solutions and products are poised for growth, and sometimes unexpectedly rapid. With that though, come growing pains, at a fast pace which sometimes makes it difficult to plan for, handle thoughtfully or incorporate with long term plans.

HomeNet Payment methods – A class apart

“Naturally, since our solution is an evergreen SaaS platform, we regularly release new features and capabilities, based on customer feedback and usage trends.
Our biggest adaptation though, was due to growing need expressed by house committee management organizations. At first, the business model was to approach tenants that are not commercial entities. To our surprise, such corporations were not far behind expressing interest in HomeNet. As a result of this new market opportunity, the firm has adapted the platform to be able to cater for their needs as well, but without compromising on the experience of our legacy users and without creating a conflicting user experience, adds Menny.

Unique challenges of building a FinTech platform

“Since we are targeting an industry that is not leveraging digital platforms, and there is minimal appetite for such changes, involving lack of trust and desire to have control.
This was the single biggest challenge for us, as the “What’s In It For Me” (WIIFM) was focused around these areas.”

 The DNA- Data security and privacy

Data security and privacy is in our DNA. Our “by-design” approach to cyber-security and data minimization principles is essential in allowing us to grow our customer base.
Our general attitude is to keep only what we must and only for the minimum duration it is required for. We also integrate with secure payment facilities that have proven track record and reputation. Last but not least, complying with PCI DSS requirements was one of the first things on our agenda.

Leveraging AI ethically

The proliferation and ease of use of Artificial Intelligence and Language Models has certainly expanded into every industry. Menny adds that the firm believes in aligning Trust with New Technology which is an ongoing challenge, and we are currently exploring ways to leverage AI in ethical and responsible ways that will be gradually used to improve our overall customer experience, while not increasing ongoing cost or complexity.

Freemium Service

“Our freemium service offering is gaining great momentum that I would encourage interested parties to explore. Also, our revenue share model means that our success is directly linked to our customer adoption, the more they use payment solutions in our platform the greater the benefit for everyone, allowing us to focus our attention on user experience and alignment.”