Investment Roundup: Visa Buys Stake in Klarna; Revolut, Tango Land Financing
Investors continue to show strong interest in fintech-based payments services providers, as Visa acquires an equity share in fast-growing Swedish e-commerce specialist Klarna, and startups Revolut and Tango Card land significant financing rounds.
Visa Inc. is buying a stake in Swedish payments provider Klarna, and the two companies intend to develop a strategic partnership to accelerate online and mobile commerce across Europe. The size of the deal was not disclosed.
Klarna serves 60 million consumers and 70,000 retailers. Earlier this month, the company secured a full banking license from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. The license enables Klarna to broaden its product portfolio for customers and merchants, according to the company.
London-based travel card specialist Revolut is close to landing a £50 million (US$65 million) funding round that will value the company at £300 million (US$390 million), according to a report from Sky News. The round will be led by Index Ventures, which acquired an interest in Revolut last year, the report said. Silicon Valley investor Ribbit Capital is also said to be taking part in the round. Founded just two years ago, Revolut offers a prepaid international currency card, which can be loaded with funds via bank account transfer through an app. The company reportedly is on track to have 1 million customers by the end of 2017.
Finally, Seattle-based Tango Card, a provider of digital rewards and incentives to 2,000 corporate enterprise customers, has secured a $10 million investment facility from Silicon Valley’s Western Technology Investment. Tango said it plans to use the funds to invest in its core rewards delivery platform, develop new products and accelerate expansion outside the U.S..
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