Tenants seeking flexible payment options could soon have the option to live-now-pay-later their rental payments and bonds with Rent.com.au (ASX: RNT) partnering with SkyCredit for integration into RentPay, the real estate app set to provide a much needed bridge between tenants and landlords.
The 5-year-partnership is an extension of RentPay’s existing partnership with SkyCredit which has provided services for RentBond – a product that enables renters to bridge the gap from one rental to another by financing their bond online. Key elements to the partnership extension will include “BNPL type product features” that Rent.com.au intends to build into the RentPay app alongside payments tech provided by fintech partner Novatti Group (ASX: NOV).
“We see RentPay as a platform providing a broad range of services that renters want and need to manage their renting experience, rather than simply just a payments mechanism”, said Rent.com.au CEO, Greg Bader.
“Of course, we intend RentPay to totally change how rental payments work by providing features such as allowing scheduling of payments when it suits the renter, but still paying the agent or landlord on time. A key component of this flexibility is allowing customers to overpay (i.e. building a buffer for a rainy day – a feature requested by 42% of our customers) but the reverse also applies when a renter experiences unexpected costs.”
The exclusive partnership will be facilitated by SkyCredit’s Australian Credit Licence, enabling Rent.com.au to market credit products and receive commission on credit originated from Rent.com.au products.
“Our partnership with SkyCredit allows us to offer emergency funding to renters should they require it,” added Bader.
In order to fully integrate SkyCredit’s services, the launch of RentPay has been pushed back 4-6 weeks having previously been planned for March 2021. But for Bader, the decision to delay the launch was a no-brainer where this “functionality will allow us to actively improve a renters’ financial wellbeing.”
Last month, Rent.com.au drew global attention from the investor community following news of tech mogul Bevan Slattery investing $2 million in Rent.com.au ahead of the planned RentPay launch, sending RNT shares soaring.
Since securing Slattery’s strategic investment, Rent.com.au has reported surpassing 1 million renter resumes on its platform, Australia’s most popular site for renters.
For the Half-Year ended 31 December 2020, Rent.com.au reported $1.48m sales revenue which represented a 24% year-on-year increase.
Alfred Chan is a Business Reporter at The Sentiment specialising in ASX-listed small cap companies, a bloodstock enthusiast and former equities analyst.
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