US QR-code-based mobile payments start-up LevelUp has raised $9 million in the second part of a $21 million funding round joined by Deutsche Telekom venture capital arm T-Venture.
Individual investors joined T-Venture in the round, with the latter's senior investment manager Randeep Wilkhu taking a place on the LevelUp board.
The new cash - joining money from Highland Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Balderton Capital, Continental Investors and Transmedia Capital raised in the first half of the round - will be used for product development and network expansion.
LevelUp is a QR code-based mobile payments system. Users download an iPhone or Android app and then link a credit or debit card to get a unique code which can then be scanned at participating retailers to make payments.
The firm claims 200,000 active users - a 100% rise in the last three months - who can use the app at 3000 businesses, lured by a zero interchange rate.
Seth Priebatsch, LevelUp, says: "We're incredibly excited to have such well-known industry leaders back us as we push toward becoming a truly meaningful company. We're in the middle of a seismic shift in the economy, where paying for transactions is no longer the status quo, and merchants come to expect so much more value from their payment provider than just the basic movement of money."