Major US mortgage lender stops accepting Bitcoin payments

One of the largest US mortgage lenders, United Wholesale Mortgage (UMW) stopped accepting cryptocurrency payments six weeks after launching the program. Among the reasons cited were regulatory uncertainty and associated costs.

In mid‑August, UMW announced that it would allow customers to pay mortgage installments using Bitcoin. The company wanted to study and test the new instrument to determine whether it offered a faster, simpler and cheaper solution.

“We are evaluating the feasibility and requirements in order to accept cryptocurrency to satisfy mortgage payments.” – @Mishbia15

— United Wholesale Mortgage (@UWMlending) August 16, 2021

“Thanks to our technology team, these transactions went through successfully. Because of the additional costs and regulatory uncertainty in the cryptocurrency space, we have concluded that at this time we are not ready to go beyond the pilot program,” said in a new press release.

UMW stressed that the testing experience prepared the organization for the implementation of digital assets. The company will again integrate Bitcoin payments when “cryptocurrency transactions become something that advances the business.”

According to CNBC, as part of the pilot program UMW accepted six cryptocurrency transactions and tested three assets — Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum. In an interview with CNBC, the lender’s CEO Matt Ishbia noted that there was not significant demand among customers for such a service.

Because the IRS classifies cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as property, some participants in the experiment may be liable for tax bills for payments made in digital assets.

“Many people do not understand that every time they pay with cryptocurrency for a cup of coffee or other consumer goods, the activity is classified as a capital gain,” explained Shehan Chandrasekera, head of tax strategy at CoinTracker.io.

In September, the American online retailer Shop.com added cryptocurrency payments as part of a partnership with the processing service BitPay.

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