Occupi, a proptech startup reimagining the tenant payment experience, has announced a $3 million Seed funding round to accelerate the development of its inclusive financial platform for the rental industry. The round marks a pivotal moment for the company as it looks to scale its payment and screening services across multifamily and single-family rental markets in the U.S.

The round is led by mission-driven investors focused on financial access and real estate innovation. Founders Taylor Peake, Emily Hart, and Josh Hornady are at the helm of Occupi, building on their deep understanding of both property management operations and financial service gaps that have long affected renters - particularly those relying on cash-based or nontraditional income streams.

A Simpler, More Equitable Way to Pay Rent

Occupi’s platform enables tenants to access modern financial tools even if they’re outside traditional credit ecosystems. By offering cash-based financial services that connect directly to a property manager’s general ledger, Occupi is removing barriers to payment compliance and creating a more seamless experience for both renters and operators.

Unlike legacy rent payment systems, which often overlook unbanked or underbanked tenants, Occupi ensures that every renter - regardless of how they earn or access money - has a fair, digital-first option to pay. Through integrations with leading property management platforms, Occupi allows payments to post in real-time and reconciles them automatically, reducing errors, friction, and late fees.

This makes Occupi more than just a rent portal - it's infrastructure for inclusive property finance.

Tackling the Industry’s Most Overlooked Bottlenecks

Many property managers still rely on a fragmented mix of manual payments, outdated bank transfers, and tenant screening tools that introduce unnecessary delays or exclude good applicants based on incomplete financial histories. Occupi brings these services together under one roof - screening, onboarding, and payment processing - optimized for today’s renter economy.

The pain point is real: over 25% of renters in the U.S. are underbanked, and many more lack formal credit histories, making them invisible to traditional property systems. Occupi bridges that gap. By providing alternate rails for financial verification and payment submission, it allows landlords to accept funds with less risk and greater transparency.

One of the most powerful strategies Occupi deploys - and something more founders should take note of - is how they embed directly into the systems their customers already use. They’re not asking landlords to adopt a new platform; they’re enhancing the financial plumbing of existing workflows. This insight is a critical unlock: the best B2B startups don’t compete for user attention - they quietly automate the background. When your product lives inside core systems like ledgers or ERPs, you become indispensable. Startups that understand this dynamic are able to scale faster, reduce churn, and justify premium pricing because their value is infrastructural, not optional. Founders building in any ops-heavy vertical should study how Occupi's approach lowers activation energy while increasing long-term dependency.

Unlocking Revenue for Property Managers

For landlords and property managers, Occupi isn’t just a convenience upgrade - it’s a revenue unlock. The platform automates much of the back office work typically bogged down by manual tracking, late payment resolution, and tenant onboarding. With Occupi, teams save hours each week while also collecting more on time - especially from tenants who previously lacked digital payment options.

It also creates an entirely new layer of financial data that can be used to assess property performance and predict payment trends. With accurate and up-to-date payment insights, property managers can more easily forecast cash flow, spot risks earlier, and make more data-driven leasing and investment decisions.

Why This Matters Now

The rental market is undergoing a major shift. With affordability challenges, record-high evictions, and a new generation of renters demanding digital-first solutions, platforms like Occupi are arriving at the perfect moment. Landlords want to reduce churn and risk. Renters want fairer access and easier tools.

Occupi is uniquely positioned to serve both sides of the market by building tech that is inclusive, efficient, and deeply integrated into the daily operations of rental management.

The timing also coincides with increased regulatory and investor interest in financial inclusion. As fintech evolves, there's growing pressure on landlords and operators to serve the full spectrum of renters - not just those with pristine credit or standard W-2 incomes. Occupi is helping bridge that responsibility with automation, data, and empathy.

What’s Next for Occupi

With $3 million in fresh capital, Occupi is now focused on team expansion, platform enhancements, and deepening integrations with property management software. The company also plans to roll out additional features aimed at screening tenants with alternative data, improving payment flexibility, and increasing overall automation for landlords.

As they scale, the Occupi team remains grounded in their mission: to ensure every renter, regardless of background or banking status, has a clear, fair path to secure and maintain housing. By enabling landlords to meet those renters with seamless financial tools, they’re unlocking more than just rent payments - they’re enabling trust and transparency across an entire industry.

Occupi is not only building better proptech - they’re building a fairer financial future for everyone in the rental ecosystem.