Transactional advertising outfit TrialPay has secured $40 million in a funding round joined by payments giant Visa.
Greylock Partners, T Rowe Price, DAG Ventures, DFJ Growth, QuestMark Partners and existing investors joined Visa in the round.
Launched in 2006, the TrialPay platform lets consumers get goods online for 'free' if they agree to buy, trial or just sit through an advert for another product.
The firm claims that it has provided more than 150 million online shoppers with its alternative ways to pay and that transactional advertising now drives hundreds of millions of dollars for merchants in areas like social games, software and mobile apps.
After a bumper 2011, which saw a seven-fold rise in transaction volume and four-fold jump in traffic, TrialPay says it will use the new money to expand into new markets.
Alex Rampell, co-founder and CEO, TrialPay, says: "Transactional advertising is rapidly changing both the economics of online payments and the way advertisers make meaningful connections with consumers online. We're excited to continue our advancements at the nexus between digital payments and online advertising."