Vancouver rental platform startup liv.rent has added bitcoin as a form of payment, allowing tenants to pay their rent with cryptocurrency while the landlord receives fiat currency.
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.
“People are requesting more choices,” said liv.rent’s Director of Research & Development, Fuad Arafa. “We’re giving choices to the people.”
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 Canadian dollars into the landlord’s bank account. With this new feature, landlords can appeal to a wider pool of potential tenants.
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.
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