loyalBe raises $1m for its open banking loyalty platform

Leading on from an exciting partnership with Visa, Belfast-based fintech company, loyalBe, has secured $1m investment in an oversubscribed investment round led by Techstart Ventures with support from and Clarendon Fund Managers and angels. The company plans to use the funds to expand into the Irish market with its bank-linked loyalty solution.

Founder and CEO, Cormac Quinn, said,

“We intend to use the funds to build partnerships and upscale our marketing efforts within Ireland. We have recently partnered with Visa to expand into the Irish market and this investment will allow us to accelerate our rollout of the app to local businesses.”

The loyalBe platform improves customer engagement between retailers and their loyal customers, by replacing outdated loyalty tools with an easy-to-use mobile app, and offering them a way to conveniently engage with top customers.

The loyalBe app uses Open Banking technology, allowing customers to automatically earn rewards simply by paying with their bank card. Transactional data can be used to accurately attribute customer spend which removes the need for any Point of Sale integrations or equipment in-store, allowing for a rapid and straightforward set-up.

loyalBe’s mission is to provide independent businesses with a data-driven loyalty solution that will level the playing field and allow them to compete against multinational brands with huge resources. Their platform now enables local businesses to surprise and delight their best customers with automated campaigns and offers a new layer of insights, allowing them to get to know their customers better.

The past year has shone a light on the importance of supporting local businesses, to sustain the economy and protect jobs. loyalBe believes that shopping locally is crucial – now more than ever – and this is a message the team is passionate about spreading and incorporating as part of their business model.

Cormac said:

“It is extremely important to rally behind local businesses. With loyalBe, we are encouraging customers to shop local and invest in the local economy. Our app helps businesses to create and engage with more loyal customers to drive repeat sales and we’re delighted to be supporting many local businesses already.”

He added: “loyalBe is growing extremely quickly, and we are looking forward to onboarding many more businesses and customers to the app in the coming months.”

Editor’s Notes: 

About Techstart Ventures

Techstart Ventures LLP is a venture capital fund manager operating in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, Techstart provides support for early-stage technology businesses and university spin-outs through £50m of equity funds, and a £4.5m proof of concept grant fund. As part of its Access to Finance strategy, Invest NI is a Limited Partner in the Northern Ireland equity funds, funder of the proof of concept grant fund, and is part-funded by ERDF under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020. 

About loyalBe

loyalBe (https://loyalbe.io/) is a digital loyalty platform and app, which aims to eliminate paper loyalty cards and democratise access to data-driven loyalty tools. The business is based in Belfast and was founded in 2018 by Cormac Quinn, becoming the first company to use Open Banking for loyalty.

• In 2018 loyalBe won the Danske Bank Open Banking competition, which came with a £60k grant prize along with office space and support.
• In 2019, loyalBe acquired its AIS authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority, making it the first company in Ireland to do so, and has since partnered with Visa and Champion Green to expand in the Republic of Ireland.
• The investment amount was for £725,000 (GBP), €850,000 (EUR) or $1m (USD).

Contact for further information: 

Emma Mooney, Marketing Coordinator, loyalBe: [email protected].