Stake, which Offers Cash Back and Banking Services for Renters, Raises $12M via Series A

Stake, which offers Cash Back and banking services to renters, announced the completion of its $12 million Series A round.

With Stake, renters earn Cash Back when they “take positive actions, like signing a lease and paying rent.” Owners save money “with every renter action.”

The investment round was led by RET Ventures, which “selected Stake as one of the first investments for the new RET Ventures ESG Fund (the ‘Housing Impact Fund’).”

Participation also “included: Enterprise Community Partners, which, since 1982, has helped create or preserve 873,000 homes; Hometeam Ventures; Operator Stack; and Second Century Ventures, the investment arm of the National Association of Realtors.” Existing investors Shadow Ventures and Olive Tree Ventures also made contributions to the round.

Today over 44 million American households “pay rent every month, and from 1985 to 2020, median rent prices increased by nearly 150% despite income growing just 35%.”

Leveraging behavioral science, Stake was founded in 2018 “to empower renters by providing them with Cash Back on their rent as well as no-fee banking services to build savings.” Stake also “mitigates pain points for building owners, increasing lease-ups, reducing economic vacancy, improving maintenance, and increasing ancillary revenue.”

Using Stake, property managers “receive a 130% return on every dollar spent. Renters earn an average of 4% Cash Back on their rent each month.” Across the $385 million in annual leases connected to the platform, 65% of renters “have more money in their Stake account than any other banking account.” In the past year, the number of residences that offer Cash Back with Stake “has grown by 10x.”

Rowland Hobbs, Co-Founder and CEO of Stake, said:

“Renters don’t need more debt or loans. What renters need is money to help with everyday essentials and to establish long-term savings. With Stake, we have reimagined the classic ‘rainy day fund’ for renters to build the sort of wealth traditionally associated with home ownership. Now, their largest expense is also their largest source of savings.”

The new funding round will “enable Stake to continue building out its financial infrastructure and suite of solutions that address difficult issues for renters and property owners alike.”

John Helm, partner at RET Ventures, who will join Stake’s board, remarked:

“Stake’s approach to housing affordability is perfectly aligned with the mission of our ESG-centric fund. While a slew of platforms offer renters innovative payment options, they are all credit or debt-based. They ultimately encourage dangerous behaviors as part of their proposed solution. Stake flips the script on this model by offering a risk-free, renter-centric, efficient, and easy-to-use pathway toward building wealth.”

Enterprise Community Partners President and CEO Priscilla Almodovar added:

“Unlike homeowners, renters rarely reap financial benefits from paying for their homes – and families who rent tell us they could use a little extra cash each month. This is why Stake’s goal of empowering more economically resilient renters through cash back and no-fee banking services resonated with us. It’s not just a good deal for renters. It makes sense for landlords, too, who are more likely to retain residents, which in turn strengthens communities.”

As noted in the update, Stake is “building the financial infrastructure for the next generation of rentals.” Stake aligns incentives “between renters, operators, owners, and investors, so everyone earns the Return on Rent™ they deserve.” Stake’s revenue management tools outperform, “returning 130% on every dollar spent.”

These savings “return millions of dollars to renters each year in the Stake app.”

Thousands of renters “use Stake to earn Cash Back, grow their savings, and access free and equitable banking services.” Headquartered in New York City and Seattle, Stake is “on a mission to empower wealthier, happier, and more resilient renters.”



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