An estate agent taking crypto-currencies as a form of payment

An estate agent taking crypto-currencies as a
form of payment says one vendor has already
paid their fees in bitcoin.
Ronnie Rickner, director of Rickner Charles in
Dartford, Kent, said a seller paid their fees in
bitcoin for the sale of a £600,000 property in
Rochester.
Other agents have already reported using virtual
currency for their transactions. Last year, Go
Homes said it had sold a £350,000 property in
bitcoin, while some letting agents will take
rent and deposits in the form of
cryptocurrency.
Rickner says his offering is unique as the agent
will take other virtual currencies such as
ethereum and ripple.
He said this provides more flexibility for
clients as payments are faster, they don’t have
to share account details, and overseas buyers
can benefit from lower transfer rates.
Any crypto-payments will be held in a secure
wallet offline or exchanged for fiat currency.
EYE queried how the firm can still meet its
anti-money laundering obligations.
Rickner said: “There is a lack of legislation
currently surrounding the crypto-currency sector
as well as money laundering.
“This is hopefully going to be changed soon
and embraced further in the coming years to
ensure it is compliant.
“We are closely monitoring any change in this
legislation or our duties but we make sure that
we do all the required checks on clients before
we provide any services.
“This is about changing the industry for the
better and moving with the future of estate
agency.”
Rickner said agents need to stand out if they
want to compete against the rise of online
agents or “risk becoming extinct” by
sticking to a corporate structure and not
giving clients a choice of how they pay.
He added: “I hope that we can lead and
innovate in ways we can help our customers and
move with the times by not sitting in the same
box.”