Obligo Partners With Wells Fargo for No-Deposit Product for Landlords, Tenants

FinTech rental management platform Obligo is partnering with banking giant Wells Fargo to expand its product offerings and will now be the only security deposit alternative utilizing bank-issued letters of credit for landlords and tenants.

Landlords and property managers using Obligo get the added protection of Wells Fargo letters of credit, while renters get the ability to rent without having to make a deposit, according to a press release Monday (June 27).

See also: FinTechs, Issuers Rally to Ease Rental Housing Crunch

Headquartered in Manhattan and founded in 2017 by CEO Roey Dor and Chief Operating Officer Omri Dor, Obligo uses open banking data to determine someone’s eligibility to rent without a traditional cash deposit. It aims to instill trust between renters and landlords and make the rental process as “simple as checking in and out of a hotel,” according to its website.

“Wells Fargo has been an incredible advisor on this initiative,” Roey Dor said in the release. “They share our vision of leveraging existing bank products in new ways to support proptech innovation and have been extremely agile in helping this updated model come to life.”

Read more: Wells Fargo Continues Credit Push With Autograph Card

Obligo raised $35 million in a Series B funding round last November, bringing its total funding raised to $50 million. The company has been backed 83North, HighSage Ventures, 10D, Entrée Capital, Alumni Ventures, MUFG Innovation Partners, La Maison Partners and other strategic partners.

Obligo’s suite of products includes free certified electronic move-in payments, a flexible credit-backed deposit alternative and automated electronic deposit refunds.

Related: Zego Teams With Flex for Flexible Rent Payment Initiative

Rahul Baig, managing director, head of venture capital coverage at Wells Fargo, said Obligo is one example of the type of “leading-edge FinTech companies” Wells Fargo likes to support.

Calling Obligo’s solution “unique,” Baig said the company’s “innovative approach” offers renters “tech-enabled options to make their lives easier.”