Stocard, Europe’s leading mobile loyalty wallet announced today that it raised $20 million from Macquarie Capital, with follow-on financing from original investors Shortcut, Alstin, Silicon Valley based Rocketship, HTGF, and Engelhorn.
Stocard will use the funds to launch a mobile payment functionality, recruit 40 employees across engineering, Sales and Marketing, and expand to new markets starting with the launch of its Paris office today, and Toronto, Canada launch in the coming weeks.
Björn Goß, co-founder and CEO of Stocard said : “It’s no longer a question that wallets will go mobile, the question is around how to execute the transition with the consumer’s best experience in mind. Digital will reshape the shopping process and experience, as mobile wallets rebundle services around shopping, financial services and much more. The fresh capital injection, combined with Macquarie’s track record in helping companies scale-up is a perfect fit at this stage of Stocard’s growth.”
Stocard allows its 25 million users globally to store their loyalty cards in one app and collect points and rewards without having to carry around plastic loyalty cards. In addition, users receive personalized offers from their favourite retailers, see their current points balance and transactions in real-time, and can sign up for new loyalty programmes right inside the app. The app is ranked among the top 10 shopping apps in over 15 countries.
For retailers, Stocard provides a new communication channel right inside the consumer’s wallet, allowing them to offer the latest personalized offers or prompt a customer to sign up for a loyalty programme with just one click. Over 4000 international brands are currently available in Stocard including Carrefour, Ikea, and Decathlon. Shortly, the company will launch a payment feature allowing consumers to make purchases straight from the app.
“The collaboration with our retail partners has been extremely successful, driving significant revenue in their offline stores and delivering a great ROI. In the last 18 months, we launched half a dozen more markets, and established ourselves as one of the leading App and Play Store apps in the Shopping category. The investment will help Stocard to accelerate its expansion and to intensify the work with our partners to bridge the gap between mobile and brick and mortar and help them to drive their digital agenda”, adds David Handlos, co-founder and CEO at Stocard.
Elmar Broscheit, Managing Director at Macquarie Capital said: “Stocard offers a holistic shopping experience for customers by completely revisiting the role mobile and wallets can play in our everyday shopping experience. The team is also creating new value for retailers by allowing them to leverage digital, mobile, and data in a way that was simply not available before Stocard. We are impressed by the company’s rapid growth, currently adding 1 million new users per month, and working with some of the largest most innovative retailers globally. The business is strategically positioned to shape the future of the mobile wallet space and we look forward to working closely with the Stocard team to help them grow the business.”
Stocard has offices in Sydney, Australia, Rome, Italy, Amsterdam for Benelux, Mannheim, Germany, just opened a new office in Paris, France and is looking to open an office in Toronto, Canada shortly. The company will double its team, recruiting 40 new employees globally, across Engineering, Sales and Marketing.