Second-largest US mortgage lender UWM dumps Bitcoin payment plans

Published at: Oct. 15, 2021

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), one of the largest wholesale and purchase lenders in the United States, is ditching Bitcoin (BTC) payments plans after running a test.

UWM officially announced Thursday that the company has successfully conducted its first-ever cryptocurrency mortgage pilot, accepting five crypto payments in October and one in September.

The firm did not disclose more information about the test, neither specifying what cryptocurrencies were part of the pilot nor what companies have assisted the firm in completing it.

“We’re proud to be the first mortgage lender to successfully pilot this technology and further demonstrate that we’re innovating for the long term,” UWM CEO Mat Ishbia stated.

Despite running the test successfully, the mortgage company has decided to stay away from Bitcoin payments, citing associated issues such as regulation:

“Due to the current combination of incremental costs and regulatory uncertainty in the Crypto space we’ve concluded we aren’t going to extend beyond a pilot at this time.”

UWM noted that the pilot process has helped the firm learn about crypto payment transactions and prepared the company to make it available “once cryptocurrency transactions become something that will propel the organization forward.” The firm noted that the lender will continue monitoring developments in the crypto and blockchain industry for potential use in the future.

Related: Bacon Protocol launches decentralized mortgage platform

The second-largest mortgage lender in the U.S., UWM broke the news on its plans to experiment with crypto mortgage payments in August, looking to test mortgage payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether (ETH). The company disclosed its plans in conjunction with UWM’s Q2 financial results, with the firm posting roughly $140 million in net profits. At the time of writing, UWM has not announced its Q3 results.

Cointelegraph reached out to UWM with additional queries regarding the matter. This article will be updated pending new information.

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