Ebates, a loyalty marketplace subsidiary of e-commerce firm Rakuten, has acquired US-based loyalty marketing services provider Cartera Commerce for an undisclosed sum, giving an exit to financial services provider USAA.
Cartera has built a platform that enables users such as retailers, card issuers or airlines to offer loyalty marketing services and reward schemes to increase loyalty among customers. The purchase will expand Ebates’ existing offering of loyalty schemes.
The acquisition follows $43m in funding from investors including USAA, which invested in Cartera when it was still known as Mall Networks. Cartera’s technology powered USAA MemberShop, a reward scheme the firm provided for its military service members.
The company’s last funding was a $12.2m round led by investment firm Comvest Group in 2012 that featured all its existing backers, including Flybridge Capital, Dace Ventures, LBO Enterprises and Venture Capital Fund of New England.
Kevin H. Johnson, chief executive of Ebates, said: “Ebates is thrilled to join forces with an industry leader like Cartera to provide even richer opportunities to our customers.
“We are both working on similar opportunities and together we will be able to provide ever more compelling rewards and offers to consumers as well as more effective marketing programs to our clients.”