The founder of MegPrime, which is bringing the industry’s first universal payment token to market, said that the MegPrime (MPP) Token is designed to function as a universal payments tool, usable for daily expenses such as groceries, rent, and household bills, while also supporting programs aimed at improving housing affordability.
“We view MegPrime as Amazon for real estate — built to earn loyalty through everyday engagement, not one-time transactions,” Zach Ipour, co-founder of MegPrime and Megatel Homes, told The Title Report.
MegPrime plans to launch the MPP Token on Uniswap Feb. 26, following the receipt of a no-action letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). MegPrime received regulatory guidance permitting the offering of the MPP Token without registration as a security under the Securities Act of 1933.
The MPP Token will be marketed as a crypto asset that consumers can use for purchases and bill payments, while earning digital rewards through a combination of additional tokens and points that represent the amount of dollars spent with the tokens.
Ipour said the no-action letter from the SEC has been viewed within the crypto industry as a “valuable milestone,” adding that it could help create a clearer path for other companies exploring compliant entry into the market.
“We encourage more companies to enter this space, and we expect to be an active part of its growth,” Ipour said.
Sterbcow Law Group Managing Attorney Marx Sterbcow, one of the outside attorneys involved in the project, said it typically takes 18 to 24 months for a company to secure SEC non-action relief for this type of business venture. This means that “MegPrime has a head start on everyone else,” Sterbcow noted.
How the token can be used
Consumers can use MPP Tokens within the MegPrime app to make mortgage or rent payments, while earning rewards that can be applied toward other everyday expenses. The rewards can be converted to U.S. dollars through the platform. Consumers who pay rent using MPP Tokens may be eligible to receive up to a year’s worth of rent, capped at $25,000, which can be applied toward the purchase of a home.
Eligible homebuyers who use a MegPrime Token to pay their earnest money deposit on a home within Megatel Homes’ inventory may qualify for a 2.99 percent interest rate.
“We would be accepting the earnest money deposit in the form of the MPP (Token) and (the) rest would be just like any other normal real estate transaction,” Ipour said.
Ipour noted a debit card system will be set up to allow consumers to make purchases at businesses that do not accept the MPP Token.
“If a merchant doesn’t accept our payment platform directly, we offer a card linked to the customer’s digital wallet,” Ipour said. “Users can fund the card with MPP Tokens and use it anywhere cards like Visa are accepted.”
The MPP Token platform will also allow consumers to send a payment to another person using a mechanism similar to Venmo.
How will the platform affect the title industry?
Ipour said it took approximately five years to fully develop this universal payment token. He said that building engagement with renters early increases the likelihood they will continue using the MPP token when they are ready to buy a home.
“If you can take care of the renters early, they’re far more likely to stay loyal when they’re considering home ownership and purchasing the home,” Ipour said.
Ipour and Sterbcow noted they expect the MPP Token platform to have a ripple effect on the title insurance industry.
“I think increasing the volume of home sales is only helping the title industry,” Ipour said.
He added that bringing more renters to the homeownership world will have a positive impact on the title sector.
“So many people feel trapped in a long-term rental situation,” Ipour said. “… If you can create the opportunities for renters (to) become homeowners rather than renters, that will directly affect the title industry… I see this as a complement to the title industry, not a disruption.”
“It’s going to open up the title industry to crypto,” Sterbcow added.
Sterbcow praised the work of Ipour, Ipour’s brother and Megatel Homes and MegPrime co-founder Aaron, and the administrative team they’ve assembled.
“The team … is … the creme de la creme globally. … The level of intelligence and thought that have gone into this … he and his brother, their visionary minds are off the chart,” Sterbcow told The Title Report. “If this doesn’t go to the moon, I don’t think there is anything that will go to the moon. … Everything has been buttoned up, thought about 50 different times, different ways. … This is not a fly-by-night crypto deal where you have these speculators coming in. … That’s not this at all.”
Ipour said MegPrime is opening up the token program on a state-by-state basis.
“Our payment platform will be available across the United States, with the exception of California and New York for now,” Ipour said. “The goal is to expand globally, applying the same model in other countries as people buy and use the token worldwide.”
Ipour said he and his colleagues will always be “proud” that they were the first to move forward on this universal payment initiative and added he believes other companies will be interested in participating in the MPP Token program.
“I don’t see why competitors wouldn’t choose to partner with us. We’ve built programs that make it far easier to participate in our ecosystem than to launch something from scratch,” Ipour said.
Ipour said some of Megatel Homes’ competitors have told him they are closely watching the program to see how it performs.
“If the platform performs as expected, they’ve said they’d be open to more detailed conversations with us,” Ipour said. “We would welcome them with open arms … including the apartment developers, single-family developers, real estate agents, (and) title companies. There’s a place for all of them on the MegPrime platform. This isn’t a threat to anyone; it’s a complement to existing businesses.”
Educational session offered on MPP Token
In the second or third quarter of the year, MegPrime intends to host an educational symposium in Dallas where industry leaders can learn more about the MPP Token, according to Ipour.
The MPP Token will be available to purchase during its upcoming Token Generation Event on Feb. 26, and at any point thereafter on the MegPrime app. It is also expected to be available through other third-party cryptocurrency exchanges.
Ipour praised his company’s team for their work behind the development of the universal payment token.
“We made a deliberate decision to take on the risk, and now we’re excited to move forward with the next phase of the venture,” he said.