Germany-founded mobile loyalty wallet startup Stocard has announced raising $20 million in a round led by Macquarie Capital, with follow-on funding from original investors Shortcut, Alstin, Rocketship, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and Engelhorn. The company says it will use the capital injection to hire 40 new employees and expand geographically by opening an office in Paris today and another one in Toronto “in the coming weeks.”
In addition to that, Stocard is planning to go beyond storing loyalty cards on users' phones and add a mobile payment feature, which would allow customers to pay for their purchases at the point of sale using the app.
“Technically, a digital payment card will be issued inside the Stocard app (so no plastic card involved) that can be used by the user via NFC,” Stocard CEO Bjorn Goss told tech.eu. “Stocard users will just need to hold their phone very close to a payment terminal and will then be prompted to authenticate the payment. As a funding source, they can use their credit card, debit card, or bank account.”
Stocard, which has raised a total of $26.7 million including the current Series B round, claims to have 25 million users globally and work with more than 4,000 international brands, including Carrefour, Ikea, and Decathlon. While allowing users to store all loyalty cards in their iOS or Android smartphones without needing to keep a heap of plastic at hand, it also creates a way for retail brands to communicate with customers and send tailor-made promotional offers.
Founded in 2011, Stocard is currently headquartered in Mannheim, Germany. It also has opened regional offices in Sydney, Rome, Paris, and Amsterdam.
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