Buy now, pay later shopping services have gained popularity in recent years – but can the same model apply to paying rent? • Companies like Air Canada and CIBC have hopped on the bandwagon, offering customers the option of splitting their payments in multiple installments. It’s also what a small number of financial technology companies are trying out for the rental market. • This is how it works with some companies: • For a fee, companies allow renters to split their monthly bill into two payments. Users pay half their rent on or before the first of the month to the company and the service then pays the entire month’s rent directly to the landlord. Renters pay their outstanding balance to the company on their next payday. • Amid the high cost of housing, Calgary-based Zenbase founder and CEO Koray Oztekin, believes there's a growing market for this type of service. • "We're not developers, we cannot fix the housing supply issue," he said. "But at the very least, we could offer an option that people can use if it makes sense for them." • But experts urge caution against this kind of a service. • Grant Bazian, president of the insolvency firm MNP, said while rent-now, pay-later products could be helpful for some, for others they could make matters worse. If someone isn't paying their rent at the start of the month, it could end up slipping their mind, he said. • Scott Hannah of the Credit Counselling Society agrees. He also recommends people take a "good hard look" at their budgets, consider whether they're overextending themselves, and seek help from a credit counsellor if necessary. • "Otherwise you're going to set yourself up for having a long relationship with an entity like this and paying, on average, somewhere between $120 and $240 odd dollars a year for the privilege of someone just paying your rent and you paying them right back," said Hannah. • Tap our link in bio to read more. • • • (Reporting: Paula Duhatschek; Photo: Cole Burston/The Canadian Press) @cbccalgary #Rent #Rental #Shopping #Finance #Canada #CBC #CBCNews