VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian rental platform liv.rent is excited to announce on the full moon that it has added bitcoin as a form of payment, allowing tenants to pay their rent with cryptocurrency while the landlord receives fiat currency.
Bridging the gap
The Vancouver-based start-up has always evolved to suit the needs of its community. “People are requesting more choices,” said liv.rent’s Director of Research & Development, Fuad Arafa. “We’re giving choices to the people.”
By facilitating rental payments made in bitcoin, liv.rent is offering a bridge between the world of cryptocurrency and the rental industry, which has been typically slower in the adoption of new technologies.
How the process works
The new payment method works the same as any other form of payment on the liv.rent platform. The nominal fees involved, including 0.5% liv.rent processing fee, are much lower than your typical credit card fee.
In order to enable the cryptocurrency payment, both the renter & landlord must be on the liv.rent platform.
When a tenant receives a payment request, they can go to liv.rent and pay with bitcoin. There are two options: pay directly through Coinbase, or scan a QR code containing the address of a unique payment request and pay with the cryptocurrency wallet of their choice.
When a renter pays in bitcoin, it’s transferred and later deposited as CAD into the landlord’s bank account. With this new feature, landlords can appeal to a wider pool of potential tenants.
What Lies Ahead
For those who envision a world with completely decentralized financial systems, this is renting without borders.
liv.rent, which also supports newcomers by assisting them to secure a home in Canada prior to arrival, hopes that its latest feature will break barriers by giving people a chance to fully embrace cryptocurrencies by using it to pay for rent – one of the basics of life for more than four million Canadian renters. This new bitcoin payment option is also much more affordable than the traditional wire transfer method, therefore alleviating financial barriers that come with renting your first Canadian home.
About liv.rent
Since its first launch in 2018, liv.rent has been a leader in the rental industry, transforming the way Canadians rent with the integration of technology. By automating every step of the rental process from searching to contract signing, this platform has grown to create a safe and trusted community of landlords and renters. With the help of AI algorithms that match tenants to landlords and cloud storage solutions, everything can be done online or in-app — the perfect contactless solution for a COVID-19 world.
This has been an exciting year — from the Toronto launch in April to the release of “Pay By Bitcoin” feature, and liv.rent is planning for future expansion in North America. Subscribe for all future updates and learn more at https://renters.liv.rent/bitcoin.
For more information, please contact:
Matisse Yiu
liv.rent Marketing Manager
Matisse@liv.rent
media@liv.rent