Rent Fintech Company Gets $8M for Its Flexible Payments Platform
More renters are making partial payments, and tech like this could make it easier for property managers to manage unusual arrangements.
A financial technology startup geared towards helping residential renters says it has acquired $8 million in seed funding from financial backers.
Named Till, the fintech platform received the funding from Route 66 Ventures, MetaProp and NextGen Venture Partners. Till said it will use the money to continue its growth and to attract new landlords and renters as users.
The company’s Flexible Rent platform lets renters set up a customized payment schedule that better lines up with their individual cash flow situations. The goal is to help “them to become consistent, on-time payers,” and avoid late fees.
More renters are making partial payments, and tech like this could make it easier for property managers to manage unusual payment arrangements.
“Every year, millions of renters and families are evicted from their homes, due in part to rent servicing strategies that have failed to evolve to the ways people earn and spend money in the 21st century. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country, mass unemployment and other economic fallout is threatening to push those numbers even higher,” said Till Founder and CEO David Sullivan in prepared remarks.
The service, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is available at 170 properties in 14 U.S. states comprising 30,000 units. Till has partnerships with real estate owners and property management companies, including First Communities, TM Associates, Redwood Capital Group, ACRE and Landmark Property Services.
“Till has completely altered the way we approach rent collection, but more importantly, it has improved our fundamental relationship with our residents,” said Les Menkes, managing partner of ACRE.
“By taking a more personalized approach with each of our units, we’ve been able to significantly reduce turnover at our buildings and get a more comprehensive, accurate view of our revenue stream. We’ve also been able to avoid imposing penalties on our renters, putting them in better financial health and ensuring better long-term stability to our business.”