Property tech provider and FinTech focused on digital banking join forces to improve resident life and reduce operating costs

Quext, a smart building and property management platform built by multi-family and apartment industry experts, today announced its majority stake acquisition of Viva Equity. Viva Equity’s current product offerings are Viva First, the first digital bank built with Latinos in mind—developed to empower and dignify banking for the Spanish language community— and Relm, a lifestyle banking app targeted to college students, renters and underserved communities. This revolutionary partnership prioritizes the unbanked and under-banked, by providing them with tools to become financially secure, while simultaneously lowering operators’ costs. For the Quext core platform, having the ability to utilize embedded finance technology opens the door for numerous innovations in the proptech space.

“We treat finance as a right, not a privilege,” said Jim Simpson, co-founder of Viva Equity. “Viva First and Relm fill a huge gap in the market by offering banking services to individuals who might be overlooked elsewhere. Our partnership with Quext, an innovative proptech solutions developer, allows us to better support the communities we serve by tapping into the thriving multi-family housing industry.”

Viva Equity’s approach to financial literacy provides the user with the tools needed to make financial decisions on their own. Powered by machine learning technology, Viva Equity’s mobile banking solutions were designed to help underserved populations build credit, encourage economically savvy decision-making, and set users up for success in their future financial endeavors. By offering banking options for everyone, Viva Equity paves the way for more inclusive and convenient banking and payment options within the industry.

“Acquiring Viva Equity was a natural fit for us because of our shared mission to put the resident first,” said Dave Gilles, CEO of Quext. “Quext will go to any length to improve the lives of our residents and operators, and Viva Equity provides the ideal avenue for us to do that. In our mission to democratize technology solutions, the opportunity to leverage embedded finance across the Quext core platform is a tremendous advantage. Viva Equity shares that same core ideal.”

One clear example of these synergies is a plan to eliminate in-person rent payments. Today, a high percentage of residents in workforce housing pay their rent through money orders, which is very inconvenient for the resident and operator alike. They are also highly susceptible to fraud and present additional costs to both parties. Viva Equity helps a largely unbanked population obtain bank accounts, save money by eliminating check cashing fees and make payments via debit and credit cards. For multi-family operators, this solution eliminates time-consuming manual entry, opening an opportunity to better serve residents.

Quext will feature some of these solutions at the National Apartment Association’s Apartmentalize conference August 31 - September 2, in Chicago.

About Quext

Quext is a game-changing technology and software company that makes smarter decisions brilliantly simple. Created by industry experts, Quext reimagines apartment technology with products that work seamlessly together delivering the easiest-to-learn, most intuitive, all-in-one, cloud-based apartment community nerve center ever offered. Core platform innovations include internet of things, property management, digital human customer support, high-speed internet, and property websites. Quext is a people-centric firm backed by Madera Residential, an industry leader in multi-family housing investment and property management. Headquartered in Lubbock, TX, the company was recognized as a winner of the Fierce Wireless IoT Challenge 2020. To learn more, visit https://onequext.com/ or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/onequext.

About Viva Equity

Viva Equity is a financial technology firm focused on embedded finance solutions for underserved communities. Founded by nationally recognized banking technologists and experienced industry executives, Viva Equity created the first digital-only bank, Viva First, designed with the Latino community in mind. Along with its college student focused solution, Relm, Viva Equity creates highly personalized social lifestyle and financial services with a heart and focus on the unbanked and under-banked. Utilizing machine learning, education and native language, Viva Equity strives to remove obstacles and dignify banking services using unique technology solutions. To learn more, visit Viva Equity, Viva First and Relm online. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MyVivaFirst.

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