Bank of Ireland has participated in a EUR725,000 seed funding round for Dublin-based social payments outfit Plynk following a 15-month development internship at the Irish bank's startup workspace.
Co-founded in 2015 by former Facebooker Charles Dowd and Wonga alumus Clive Foley, the Plynk money messaging app lets phone users chat one-on-one and in groups and send/receive money instantly from within the chats. The Plynk app allows users in Europe to open payment accounts, get a card and make payments in euro, with other currencies to follow. The company plans to add physical cards for users in the near future.
Plynk was developed at the Bank of Ireland Workbench in Grand Canal Square, which was opened in April 2015. The space offers a 60-seater auditorium, lounge, digital bank and a dedicated bespoke workbench zone, complete with hotdesks, interactive screens and complementary wifi and coffee.
Charles Dowd, Plynk chief executive says: “The Bank of Ireland Workbench really prepared us for today. Over the past 15 months we’ve received fantastic mentoring from the team in Bank of Ireland, NDRC and Delta Partners.”
Lesley Tully, Bank of Ireland innovation manager (pictured with Dowd and Foley) says Plynk was the first startup to take advantage of the Workbench facility.
"Bank of Ireland will continue to provide much needed support to the team including physical space, resources, mentorship, advice, connections and access to our wider network," she says. "Support for the start-up community is one of our key pillars of activity and we look forward to working with the team over the coming years.”
Additional funding for Plynk was provided by Delta Partners, Enterprise Ireland, NDRC and a number of angel investors.