Swipii, the loyalty card app, has secured an investment of GBP1.9m through a funding round led by award-winning Scottish venture capital firm Par Equity.
The latest version of the app removes the need for physical loyalty cards by linking to a debit or credit card and rewarding users with points as they shop at businesses signed-up to Swipii. The app’s original iteration had 1.1m users and its 1,700 affiliated businesses saw up to a 1.5x revenue boost, but it relied on using iPads to track visits only.
Chitresh Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Swipii, says: “We estimate that there are more than 600,000 small to medium sized businesses in the UK that could benefit from Swipii, so there is huge potential for expansion.
“Our card linking technology has improved on an already popular product by making it even more intuitive, and this investment means we can build on our existing userbase and grow with the new, more intuitive Swipii.”
Users must enter their 16-digit credit or debit card number or take a picture of their card to link it to the app. Once they have done so, the app will reward them 10 points for every GBP1 spent at signed-up businesses.
Lead investor Par Equity was joined by the government-backed Scottish Investment Bank as well as Green Shore Capital and other follow-up investors.
Par Equity partner Paul Munn says: “What struck us about Swipii was how convenient it is for users and how wide its appeal can be. We all know the frustration of forgetting to bring a loyalty card with you.
“And as for businesses, Swipii gives them useful data and their customers a reason to return, so it’s a win-win – and that makes it very attractive for investors.”
Swipii recently doubled its product team as well as hiring new Growth Director Janet Balneaves from Skyscanner, new Product Owner Mark Crabbie from Google. Also, Mark Logan, ex-COO of Skyscanner, joined the board of directors having participated in this round of funding.
