This acquisition, which was completed earlier in June, adds Circa’s free payment processing and success-based collections management to Stake’s loyalty, renter banking services and incentive optimization services, the companies said in a Thursday (June 13) press release.
With the addition of Circa, Stake not only reduces delinquencies by rewarding renters for staying current on rent, but also collects on past-due balances, Rowland Hobbs, CEO and co-founder of Stake, said in the release.
Together with the acquisition, Stake has introduced an integrated delinquency and collections management solution called Get Current. This solution includes a flexible payments system and a human-led customer relationship management (CRM) system to help renters pay past due rent and to reduce the amount of time on-site teams spend on collections, according to the release.
In addition, Circa’s payment technology has been added to Stake’s renter banking services platform, the release said. This platform enables no-fee rent payments, cash back for on-time rent payments, credit builder and reporting, and a debt-free way to access paychecks early.
Stake integrates with major property management software platforms, so rent payments and incentives are recorded in the accounting ledger, per the release.
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“Renters need more options to avoid costly, and heart-breaking, evictions,” Leslie Hyman, CEO and co-founder of Circa, said in the release. “With Stake, renters are rewarded with Cash Back. With Circa, renters in arrears are empowered with the tools to get current. Together, it’s a perfect combination: performance payments meets performance rewards, with a shared mission to empower renters.”
Stake was founded in 2018 as a way to help curb pain points for building owners, boost lease-ups, cut vacancy rates, and boost maintenance and ancillary revenue.
“Renters don’t need more debt or loans,” Hobbs said in a June 2022 press release. “What renters need is money to help with everyday essentials and to establish long-term savings.”
More than half of renters pay rent online, and 77% said they do so because it is faster and easier than traditional methods, according to “From Rents to Refunds: The Push for Faster Payments in Property Management,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Ingo Payments collaboration.
