Mobile payments provider closes second round of funding, adds board member
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Bling Nation, a mobile payments provider, announced today it has secured $20
million in Series B funding. The round was led by new investor Balderton
Capital, with additional funds raised primarily from existing investors,
including Lightspeed Venture Partners, who led the company`s Series A financing
round. In connection with the transaction, Bling Nation has also added Roberto
Bonanzinga, partner at Balderton Capital, to the company`s board of directors.
Founded in 2007, Bling Nation enables consumers to pay merchants with the tap of
a mobile phone instead of using a costly credit card or cash. In addition to
consumer convenience, merchants reduce interchange fees, and banks increase
income.
"Bling Nation`s technology will accelerate the adoption of mobile payments in
the US," said Roberto Bonanzinga, partner at Balderton Capital. "Bling Nation
has the potential to revolutionize the payment industry, a sector that
historically has been dominated by established players with little appetite for
innovation. The scale of this market and the disruptive nature of Bling Nation`s
business model combined with the company`s experienced management team are what
attracted Balderton Capital to Bling Nation, and I am honored to join the
company`s board."
"Community banks and credit unions historically have struggled to gain a profit
from their debit and credit card portfolios," said Wences Casares, co-CEO of
Bling Nation. "As a smaller financial institution, they wind up subsidizing
larger financial institutions and are lucky to break even. The opportunity
exists for community banks and credit unions to recapture lost profits by
enabling local mobile payments communities, as 85-95 percent of their debit
transactions happen locally."
With Bling Nation, the tap to pay at the merchant point-of-sale is followed by
an instant text message with the transaction information, an updated account
balance and rewards balance. If the rewards balance meets preset thresholds, a
customer can pay for their purchase using those rewards.
Bling Nation is currently active in two communities in Colorado. The first, La
Junta, Colo.-based The State Bank, began Blinging June 22. Since then, The State
Bank has seen more than 80 percent of the bank`s active debit card customers in
the target market activate a BlingTag. It took almost a decade for the bank to
see similar adoption of standard credit and debit card networks among its
customers. The second is Woodland Park, Colo.-based Park State Bank & Trust,
which began offering mobile payments to its customers Oct. 15.
About Balderton Capital
Balderton Capital is one of the largest venture capital firms in Europe,
committed to finding and helping talented entrepreneurs build great companies.
Based in London, it manages $1.9 billion in committed venture capital.
Since 2000, Balderton has invested in over 80 companies, principally in numerous
European countries but also in the US and Asia. Balderton`s investments span a
wide variety of sectors including communications, consumer services, enterprise
software and services, e-commerce, mobile, semiconductors, media and financial
services.
Balderton invests in innovative businesses and approaches investment using the
principles of teamwork and an intense dedication to building companies of
lasting value. The investment partners combine international and Silicon Valley
operational experience with company-building expertise.
Notable investments include Bebo (sold to AOL for $850m), Betfair (the online
betting exchange), 7digital (the online music download service sold to HMV),
LOVEFiLM (the home entertainment subscription service) and MySQL (sold to Sun
for $1 billion). For more information, visit: www.balderton.com.
About Bling Nation
Bling Nation brings mobile payments to consumers and merchant points of sale,
offering lower costs, increased efficiency and improved security compared to
credit cards, debit cards, checks and cash. The Bling Nation service also
enables financial institutions and merchants to offer consumers robust rewards
programs and real-time redemptions, promoting loyalty and convenience and
supporting "shop local" initiatives.
For additional information, visit www.blingnation.com.
For Bling Nation
Joy Harper, 678-781-7208
press@blingnation.com
or
For Bling Nation
Elizabeth S. McMillan, APR, 678-781-7224
press@blingnation.com
or
For Balderton
Victoria Palmer-Moore, +44 (0)20 7250 1446
victoria.palmer-moore@powerscourtmedia.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
