JPMorgan Chase has bought daily deals startup Bloomspot in a move aimed at winning cardholder loyalty by offering discounts on shopping at local stores.
The $35 million deal will bring Bloomspot's technology and about 100 employees into Chase's credit card unit, Bloomspot chief executive officer Jasper Malcolmson said in an investor memo seen by Bloomberg.
San-Francisco-based Bloomspot partners with upmarket restaurants, spas, resorts and other businesses to deliver offers to consumers in New York, Chicago and other cities. It competes with companies like Groupon and Living Social.
JPMorgan is following other big financial services providers into the crowded daily deals market, including MasterCard, American Express, Bank of America and Capital One.
Ultimately, the ambition is to integrate daily deals technology with location-based offers through mobile devices, seen as a key enabler for companies looking to compete in the nascent mobile payments market.
In February, JPMorgan Chase invested an undisclosed sum in GoPago, a San Francisco-based supplier of loyalty rewards and m-payments services for local merchants.