Bilt Becoming Housing Payments Platform
Bilt
Bilt is no longer just a rewards card business, but it is also not yet a pure payments software business. A large share of the early revenue engine came from a bank partner paying Bilt on rent volume even when the card itself was structurally weak for the bank, while the newer businesses, rent processing, landlord software, and merchant commissions, each have different margins, counterparties, and retention risks.
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The original model worked because Wells Fargo absorbed the expensive part. Renters paid through Bilt, Bilt forwarded funds to landlords by ACH or check, and Wells Fargo paid Bilt 0.8% of rent volume while covering card rewards and processing costs. That created fast revenue growth, but it depended on bank economics that later broke down.
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The newer model looks more like a mix of payments processor and resident retention software. Bilt is embedded inside systems like Yardi and RealPage, takes 0.6% to 0.9% on rent payments, and gives landlords a cheaper way to offer points and lease renewal incentives than giving away free rent. That revenue is stickier operationally, but it is exposed to fee pressure from large property managers and software platforms.
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The merchant network adds another layer, with Bilt taking roughly 1.5% to 2% on attributed neighborhood spend, but those dollars behave differently from rent. Local merchants will keep paying only if Bilt reliably sends them diners, gym members, and shoppers often enough to justify the commission. The February 7, 2026 shift to Cardless and Column, plus paid card tiers, shows Bilt is now rebuilding the card economics around annual fees and non rent spend instead of bank subsidy.
From here, Bilt is heading toward a housing linked commerce network where the best economics come from owning the payment flow and then attaching higher value products on top, including lease incentives, local merchant spend, mortgage rewards, and homeowner referrals. The company will look less like a single card program and more like a housing payments rail with loyalty attached.