Financial services provider H&R Block and payments processing company Euronet Worldwide have exited US-based mobile payments technology developer Wipit through an acquisition by banking app producer Urban FT Group.
Wipit operates a digital wallet app and prepaid Visa debit card that users can preload with cash and use to pay bills or send money to contacts. They can also use the app to top up their prepaid phone plan and take photos of cheques, with the funds loaded into the wallet within seconds.
The amount paid by Urban FT was not revealed. Euronet provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding for Wipit in 2011, while H&R Block also supplied an undisclosed amount of seed capital in 2012.
The company has also secured angel funding from assorted private individuals, as well as an undisclosed amount of series A capital in 2013 from Core Innovation Capital, the investment affiliate of non-profit financial services consultancy Center for Financial Services Innovation.
Richard Steggall, co-founder and CEO of Urban FT, said: “The acquisition further strengthens our ability to provide comprehensive end-to-end digital banking solutions for non-bank issuers who have a captive and loyal customer base.
“The telco vertical is a clear example of this, and is complementary to the services we already offer small card-issuers and payment processors.”