Imagine never having to write another rent cheque. No, you haven’t won the lottery, and no one is subsidizing your payments. You may just be using RentMoola. The Vancouver-based app allows tenants to pay their rent via credit card or direct debit and receive rewards points, redeemable across North America.
Twin brothers Patrick and Philipp Postrehovsky founded the company in 2012 after Patrick drummed up the idea while living in China. During his time abroad he had to visit the bank multiple times per month to pay his rent. The hassle of setting up a foreign bank account was enough to question why paperless credit card payments weren’t an option.
Instead of cutting a monthly rent cheque, RentMoola users can pay their rent online for a $2 per month fee using direct debit, or a 2.75% fee for credit card payments. In return, tenants gain access to RentMoola’s perks partners for deals on things like Rogers cable, phone and internet, Cineplex movie tickets, or credit towards rides with Uber or Zipcar.
“Rent and housing costs are the single largest payments anyone makes month to month,” says Director of Marketing and Partnerships, Mike Wei. “We want to reward consumers for making these payments through MoolaPerks that gives exclusive rewards and deals to our consumers.”
The Canadian government is already in the process of phasing out the use of cheques by April of 2016, something that Wei and the RentMoola team see as reinforcement to their business model.
“We’re modernizing the way an old industry does business making it paperless,” Wei contends. “Whether you’re away in China or sitting on your couch at home, you can pay your rent instantly online or via smartphone.”
RentMoola also holds benefits for landlords, property managers, and even REITs – they can setup free paperless payment systems that eliminate the need for forms, filing, and faxing.
RentMoola was recently featured on the TechVibes 20 as one of the hottest tech start-ups in Canada. The growing company now operates across North America and in the UK. They expect to open their Australian office in Sydney in the fall of this year.
For more information about RentMoola, check out their website and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
Would you use RentMoola? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @ViewTheVibe.