An estate agent taking crypto-currencies as a form of payment says one vendor has already paid their fees in bitcoin.

Ronnie Rickner, director of Rickner Charles in Dartford, Kent, said a seller paid their fees in bitcoin for the sale of a £600,000 property in Rochester.

Other agents have already reported using virtual currency for their transactions. Last year, Go Homes said it had sold a £350,000 property in bitcoin, while some letting agents will take rent and deposits in the form of cryptocurrency.

Rickner says his offering is unique as the agent will take other virtual currencies such as ethereum and ripple.

He said this provides more flexibility for clients as payments are faster, they don’t have to share account details, and overseas buyers can benefit from lower transfer rates.

Any crypto-payments will be held in a secure wallet offline or exchanged for fiat currency.

EYE queried how the firm can still meet its anti-money laundering obligations.

Rickner said: “There is a lack of legislation currently surrounding the crypto-currency sector as well as money laundering.

“This is hopefully going to be changed soon and embraced further in the coming years to ensure it is compliant.

“We are closely monitoring any change in this legislation or our duties but we make sure that we do all the required checks on clients before we provide any services.

“This is about changing the industry for the better and moving with the future of estate agency.”

Rickner said agents need to stand out if they want to compete against the rise of online agents or “risk becoming extinct” by sticking to a corporate structure and not giving clients a choice of how they pay.

He added: “I hope that we can lead and innovate in ways we can help our customers and move with the times by not sitting in the same box.”