Fintech app Fupay launches Australia’s first responsible lending rent payment product

Fupay, Australia’s first responsible spending and lending app for millennials and zoomers, has launched Fu Rent, a responsible lending rent payment product. Fu Rent helps tenants who fit responsible lending criteria, by spotting them cash to pay their rent on time and avoid falling into arrears. Starr Partners is the first network to offer Fu Rent to tenants.

As well as assisting tenants, Fu Rent holds promise for the property management sector as a means of helping tenants pay rent on time, even when they are struggling with uneven cash flow or employed on a freelance, casual or gig basis.

Tenants can access FuRent using the Fupay app. Unlike traditional BNPL solutions, Fupay’s responsible spending and lending app uses algorithms to analyse the tenant’s bank transactions and cash flow across multiple pay cycles to forecast their bills, spending habits, and income. It then uses these insights to assess personal micro-lending eligibility, to determine if the tenant is able to access cash to help cover rent in line with a repayment schedule they can actually afford.

Responsible lending criteria means eligibility for Fu Rent may vary and as a result, not all tenants will be eligible to use Fupay.

Many younger renters experience challenges meeting their rental payments thanks to uneven or short term cash flow crunches. In these times many will turn to skipping meals, paying other bills late or borrowing money from friends in order to ensure they can pay their rent on time and maintain household security. Within Fupay customers the highest demand for millenial credit and payment flexibility is for everyday lifestyle costs, not retail spending. In the broader BNPL sector some 34% of customers report using the eight week BNPL deferral payment service to pay their rent.

Betsy Westcott, Chief Revenue Officer at Fupay commented, “We’ve all experienced those tough months when all your major bills arrive at once and cash is suddenly very short. FuRent helps customers to create some payment flexibility around their rent so that they can enjoy some short term cash flow relief whilst ensuring their most important bills are paid on time.”

Doug Driscoll, CEO Starr partners said, “Fupay’s dedication to the financial wellness of Australians is commendable. By offering a money management platform which allows consumers to responsibly borrow funds to pay their rent and know where their money has gone, it allows consumers to know how best to manage it for the future.”