Droplet, a UK mobile payments start-up that is targeting debit and credit card transactions, has closed its final seed investment round on CrowdCube today, having raised 115% of its target. The company secured £574,650 from 328 investors.
The Birmingham-based UK startup has won 600 merchants and 18,000 users since its launch in 2012 and intends to use its extra funds to support expansion, especially in London. It is targeting merchants in 12 major new UK cities, adding to its existing presence in Brighton, Cambridge, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds, Norwich and Sheffield.
Droplet offers transaction fee-free payments to merchants and consumers. It targets value-added revenue from loyalty schemes and the like instead, and is hopeful of attracting debit and credit card flows for that reason. “We’re looking forward to using the funds raised to help further disrupt the payments industry,” said Droplet’s CEO and co-founder, Steffan Aquarone.
This latest round of funding takes Droplet’s total raised to date to £1.4m. Latest investors include the London Co-Investment Fund, which contributed £150,000 from government funds and a taxi firm in Norwich.
According to Tom Dudbridge of investment fund Freshford, Droplet's solution is elegant and the company's take on mobile payments is forward thinking. “The mobile payments market today is wide open and we are very excited to be participating in this investment,” he said. “The shift to mobile represents a major opportunity for payment providers that can offer more than just an alternative way for consumers to hand over money."