PayPal Ventures Invests in Rental FinTech Jetty for Product Expansion

Financial services company Jetty with the goal to improve affordability in renting a home, received new funding from PayPal Ventures and Experian Ventures, a press release said Wednesday (May 25).

The company has numerous offerings to help with security deposits, flexible rent payments and renter insurance.

The new funding will help it launch a new program called Jetty Credit, a credit building service to help facilitate the reporting of rent payments to credit bureaus. This will add data to help renters with credit scores.

“We believe that working with the most respected names in financial services is the fastest and most effective way to help us achieve our vision,” said Mike Rudoy, co-founder and CEO at Jetty. “Beyond additional capital, this investment gives us access to a new toolset to improve our current products and bring new solutions to market. Demand for renter-focused financial services has never been greater, and we remain focused on alleviating the financial pain being felt by renters across the country.”

Rachel Zabronsky, an investor with PayPal Ventures, said the common mission was “democratizing access to financial services.”

“We’re excited by Jetty’s ambitions to reimagine renting, making it a better, more accessible experience from move-in to move-out,” she said, according to the release.

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

The housing industry has seen higher prices lately, with FinTechs and other companies trying to address that, PYMNTS wrote.

The Census Bureau recently said the rental vacancy rate was 5.6% as of Q4 2021, the report said. The National Association of Realtors said it was the lowest supply in around 40 years.

Rudoy was quoted as saying that Jetty’s “rent now, pay later” option gives property managers the predictable cash flow needed, and will help renters get out of rigid payment dates “that don’t reflect the financial realities of today’s renter population.”