Bilt Rewards, a payments and commerce platform transforming the housing payments market, has acquired Banyan, a platform for item-level receipt data. This is Bilt’s first strategic acquisition, and it will help to expand the firm’s ability to create innovative experiences that drive neighborhood commerce and deliver value to residents and local merchants.
According to Bilt, Banyan’s platform, which has analyzed over 20 billion receipts and processed hundreds of billions in spending, will enable hyper-personalized rewards and automated benefits to strengthen connections between residents and local businesses in their neighborhoods.
“This acquisition represents a major step forward in our mission to transform how residents engage with their neighborhoods,” said Ankur Jain, founder and CEO of Bilt. “By further incorporating Banyan’s item-level intelligence into our platform, we’re able to create truly seamless experiences that drive value for both our members and our network of over 40,000 neighborhood merchants. This is about making commerce more meaningful, more personalized, and more rewarding exactly where people live.”
While Bilt has active participation in categories such as dining, fitness, and pharmacy, the acquisition is intended to accelerate its expansion into additional merchant areas, such as grocery, gas, and parking to create a more robust neighborhood commerce network.
The acquisition will enable Bilt to develop several new capabilities, including expanding its flexible spending account and health savings account programs, which is already powered by Banyan’s technology at Walgreens, to extend to more neighborhood merchants; enabling merchants to offer personalized rewards on home essentials when Bilt members move into a new neighborhood; enabling consumer packaged goods companies to offer targeted rewards when residents buy specific items at neighborhood merchants; and creating cross-merchant experiences.
Following the acquisition, Banyan will continue to operate independently under the leadership of founder and CEO Jehan Luth and collaborate closely with Bilt to enhance the neighborhood commerce ecosystem.
“At Banyan, we’ve built a trusted item-level receipt data platform that connects the who, what, and where of commerce,” noted Luth. “By joining forces with Bilt, we can implement our technology at scale, creating experiences that feel magical for consumers while delivering measurable results for merchants. We’re excited to combine our item-level precision with Bilt’s neighborhood commerce network to reimagine what’s possible in local commerce.”
In other Bilt news, leading multifamily developer, manager, and owner Greystar announced a strategic partnership with the payments and resident loyalty platform to enhance the renter experience. Bilt’s platform is live in 900 Greystar communities, with plans for continued growth across the nation.
Through the platform, Greystar residents can earn points on rent payments and access benefits in their neighborhoods. Points can be redeemed for travel, shopping, future rent payments, and more. In addition, residents can earn additional points and exclusive benefits at local restaurants, fitness centers, and Walgreens, as well as on Lyft rides.
According to Greystar, the rewards platform integrates seamlessly with its resident apps to ensure residents can manage payments and rewards at any time. Residents also have access to optional free credit reporting for on-time rent payments through Bilt.
“Our partnership with Bilt represents a significant evolution in how we reward our residents,” said Greystar chief operating officer Andrew Livingstone. “This program allows us to go beyond providing quality housing by delivering tangible benefits that enrich the lives of our residents every day. Whether through earning points on rent or enjoying exclusive perks in their neighborhoods, this initiative demonstrates our commitment to creating a truly rewarding living experience.”
He added the rewards program isn’t only a win for residents. “At the same, these innovations are intended to create long-term value for the property owners we serve, with a goal of growing resident retention, reducing vacancy, and increasing on-time payments,” Livingstone said.
