Vouchr permits customers to connect customized multimedia notifications to cash transfers.
Canadian fee providers supplier Interac has acquired the unique rights to make use of Toronto-based Vouchr’s funds personalization platform in Canada.
Interac stated it invests into the Canadian FinTech ecosystem “to create a extra accessible and safe digital economic system.”
An Interac spokesperson additionally informed BetaKit that Interac has introduced in a number of key Vouchr staff to combine the expertise as a part of the deal. In response to Vouchr co-founder and CEO Robert Balahura’s LinkedIn profile, he now holds a place in Interac’s product group to additional develop the Vouchr platform. Balahura informed BetaKit that Vouchr will proceed its operations in the US and internationally.
Interac stated it intends to make use of the Vouchr platform to combine customized notifications, rewards, and service provider choices for its product suite, together with its e-transfer service. Vouchr says it goals to combine “shock, delight, and engagement” into on a regular basis transactions.
“As Canadians present elevated choice for digital-first experiences, this transaction will enable us to spice up engagement on the platform whereas making transactions a extra customized extension of every day life,” Interac’s head of product for e-transfer, Anurag Kar, stated in an announcement. “Interac e-transfer customers will be capable to obtain personalized notifications, and ship significant messages that characteristic eCards, movies, and GIFs embedded inside the notification.”
Interac stated the combination may also allow companies in Canada to ship firm branded Interac e-transfer notifications to staff, prospects, and suppliers. Interac claims utilization of its e-transfer service has climbed over the previous 12 months to achieve a file of 1.2 billion facilitated transactions, with funds to, from, or between companies in Canada accounting for roughly 23 p.c of that.
RELATED: Wealthsimple to hitch Interac e-transfer system below expanded entry pointers
BetaKit coated Vouchr’s launch again in 2012, the place it secured $620,000 in seed funding for its peer-to-peer native suggestions service that allowed buddies to pay for and cross alongside coupons to their favorite locations. The corporate finally pivoted to generate income transfers an interactive expertise by attaching eCards, GIFs, and movies, amongst different components .
The startup was the one Canadian firm among the many 9 finalists at VentureClash in 2017, the place it took dwelling a $1-million USD prize. Vouchr later joined the Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator in early 2019 to assist scale its platform globally.
Interac stated the acquisition is a continuation of its funding within the Canadian FinTech ecosystem “to create a extra accessible and safe digital economic system.” Interac acquired Ottawa-based digital id agency 2Keys in 2019 and the unique Canadian rights to Toronto-based authentication firm SecureKey in 2021.
Toronto-based FinTech startup Wealthsimple secured provisional approval to hitch Interac’s e-transfer service final September, changing into the primary participant below expanded entry pointers. On the time, Interac president and CEO Jeremy Wilmot, who took over the corporate final 12 months, stated that monetary providers have been evolving, and that Interac was extending its platform to new organizations so shoppers and companies might perform transactions in new methods.
Disclosure: BetaKit Editor-in-Chief Douglas Soltys beforehand labored at Vouchr from 2012 to 2013.
Function picture courtesy Afif Ramdhasuma by way of Unsplash.
