Mobile payments company Wipit, Inc. announced that it has closed a Series A venture round of funding from Core Innovation Capital.
The investment will be used to expand adoption and development of the company's mobile payments and financial services offerings. Core Innovation Capital, the investment partner of the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), exclusively invests in leading financial technologies empowering the underbanked at scale. Core Managing Partner Arjan Schütte will join Wipit's Board of Directors.
Wipit enables underbanked consumers from around the world to use cash for payments on their mobile phone or with an integrated prepaid card. The company also provides access to high demand, alternative financial services such as international money transfer, mobile check deposit, bill payment, and prepaid wireless replenishment - all from the convenience of a mobile phone and payable with cash funds loaded to the user's Wipit powered mobile wallet account. Wipit's co-branded Boost Mobile Wallet program, launched in partnership with Sprint, extends the company's mobile financial services lineup to millions of underbanked prepaid wireless subscribers. Previous investors include H&R Block and Euronet Worldwide.
"Wipit is opening the world of digital payments to anyone with a mobile phone - even those without a bank account," said Richard Kang, CEO of Wipit, Inc. "Smartphone adoption in the prepaid wireless market is rapidly growing, and we provide a needed payment service for consumers who have purchased a smartphone, but have no bank account or credit card to fund digital transactions. As experts in the underbanked market, Core shares our vision for empowering these consumers. Together, we can help bring cash-preferred consumers into the digital payments mainstream."
Core Innovation Capital invests in leading financial technology companies that serve the emerging middle class, or underbanked. Through the firm's Impact Alignment investment thesis, Core seeks disruptive financial technology companies that are serving this emerging middle class at scale. Core is a sought after expert on the financial potential of underbanked customers, the co-author of regular underbanked market sizing studies, and the creator of the Core Innovation Mega Challenge, a yearly competition at CFSI and SourceMedia's Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum for underbanked financial technology innovators. Previous Core investments include BankingUp, L2C, Inc., Progreso Financiero, SavvyMoney, and TIO Networks.
"Wipit has the potential to deliver a breakthrough mobile financial offering that will significantly change the lives of underbanked customers around the world," said Core Innovation Capital founder and managing partner, Arjan Schütte. "We are excited to be a part of such a visionary team with a strong history of execution in this industry."