Mobile payment solution Bluecode raises €12 million

Bluecode, a mobile payment solution from Austria, has raised 12 million euros in its latest financing round. Private venture capitalists from Europe, who invested in Bluecode in the autumn of 2018, are investing again in the payment solution for iPhones and Android smartphones.

After the growth financing of 11.2 million euros in 2018 and this year’s EU Horizon 2020 funding of 1.9 million euros, Bluecode has now secured another investment of 12 million euros. According to the company, this is one of the highest fintech investments in Austria this year.

Currently only active in Austria and Germany

With the money, Bluecode wants to drive its national and international expansion. Currently, the company has only partnered with retailers located in Austria and Germany. Consumers can use the mobile app at over 18,000 locations across these countries. With Bluecode, they can pay, save money with discounts, vouchers and stamp passes, and store their customer cards.

CEO Christian Pirkner says that since the launch of Apple Pay and Google Pay, the interest in Bluecode has grown dramatically. “For many participants in the banking and retail sector, it’s now obvious how their business model is endangered by non-European third-party providers”, he says. “We want to use the additional funds so that our partners can benefit from our technology even faster and offer their end customers secure payment by smartphone, based on European rules.”

Three areas Bluecode will spend the money on

In a few weeks, the Austrian mobile payment solution will create the possibility for European banks to join the Bluecode network. They can then integrate the solution into their banking apps as a mobile payment solution.

Secondly, it wants to expand the number of services it offers, just like Asian mobile payment solutions such as WePay already do. “In order to keep the customer journey in the app, it’s indispensable to also offer services as being able to book tickets for local public transport, parking lots, e-scooters, hotels, cars and more.”

The third thing the money will be used for, is the cross-border expansion of Bluecode. This will happen through partnerships with leading mobile payment solutions from Europe and further abroad.