Shared 20 June, 2024
Chexy, a Canadian startup which allows renters to pay their rent online whilst earning rewards and building credit, has announced it has raised $3 million in a seed round. The round was led by Venrex, alongside Crossbeam Ventures, Groundbreak Ventures, Antler Global, as well as strategic angels in real estate, fintech, and banking.
Chexy was launched in early 2023 and enables tenants to make their monthly rental payments through their credit cards. The app allows users to easily split rent with roommates and earn cashback or rewards from their cards, while Chexy charges a fee which varies depending on the payment method. Chexy also allows renters to self-report payments to Equifax so they can build their credit. Chexy previously charged a fee for this, but alongside the funding announcement said that this feature would now be free-to-use.
Lisa Akhvledziani,(middle), CEO, said: “Not having rent payments on the credit report is causing a significant information asymmetry between tenants and landlords, making the next apartment search hard in an incredibly competitive rental market. Homeownership in Canada is already a pipe dream for many, so this is Chexy’s way of helping people move closer to achieving their dreams.”
Chexy recently announced Chexy Home Services, allowing tenants to purchase tenant insurance coverage, WiFi, phone services, and more—all at great rates under the Chexy home system with more services to come, making the Canadian rental experience more convenient and affordable.
The company’s priority is to update its payments infrastructure, to support more payment methods whilst keeping to its “no landlord onboarding” principle. At the moment, Chexy can only pay landlords that accept e-transfers, which leaves out the “thousands of tenants” on Chexy’s waitlist, because their landlord prefers pre-authorised debit payments, bill pay, or in some cases even cheques. The funding round will also help Chexy build infrastructure for tenants to pay through Chexy, no matter their landlord’s preferred payment method, and move beyond rental payments into other household services, including mortgages. The company also intends to extend its insurance offerings.
Ian Goldberg, Principal at Venrex, commented: “It is truly a win-win-win proposition with no behaviour change needed, best represented by their organic, rapid monthly user growth since launch. If you are a renter in Canada, there is no reason why you wouldn’t use Chexy and share it with your friends. Liza and team are at the forefront of building the infrastructure for consumer finance in Canada and we are thrilled to be a part of the journey.”
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