LevelUp Raises $9 Million From T-Venture and Other Investors

'Interchange Zero' Mobile Payment Network Plans for Continued Merchant Expansion and Rapid Growth


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Aug 2, 2012) - LevelUp, the world's first "interchange zero" payment network, announced today that it has raised an additional $9 million in venture capital from Deutsche Telekom venture capital arm T-Venture and other individual investors. This investment is the second part of a recent larger fundraising round, bringing the total raised to just more than $21 million. LevelUp will use this funding to fuel both product development and the rapid expansion of its Interchange Zero mobile payment network. Senior Investment Manager at T-Venture, Randeep Wilkhu, will join the LevelUp board as an observer.

LevelUp, the second largest mobile payment network behind Starbucks, recently announced that it has achieved its ambitious goal of lowering its merchant interchange rate to zero. Available at more than 3,000 businesses nationwide, LevelUp provides value to merchants beyond interchange fees in the form of business-boosting customer acquisition and loyalty campaigns and makes money off of providing that additional value.

"Having T-Venture on our side is tremendous affirmation of our Interchange Zero strategy," said LevelUp's Chief Ninja, Seth Priebatsch. "We're incredibly excited to have such well-known industry leaders back us as we push toward becoming a truly meaningful company. We're in the middle of a seismic shift in the economy, where paying for transactions is no longer the status quo, and merchants come to expect so much more value from their payment provider than just the basic movement of money."

Consumers also save big by paying with their phones on LevelUp, with average users saving between $30-40 per month. LevelUp's base of 200,000 active users is growing quickly, doubling in the last 3 months.

"LevelUp is anticipating the next big industry disruption," said Wilkhu. "T-Venture is confident that LevelUp's Interchange Zero ecosystem will drive consumer adoption of mobile payments, as well as support the economic growth of the merchants by providing value beyond the transaction."

About T-Venture
T-Venture Holding GmbH was founded in 1997 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. It has since then invested in young companies that demonstrate economic and technological synergies with the Deutsche Telekom business units as well as above-average growth potential. Its head office is in Bonn. It is supported and complemented in its activities by T-Venture of America, Inc. in San Francisco and in Seattle. Investment activities focus on Europe, the United States and Asia.

About LevelUp
LevelUp is a revolutionary new way to pay. Users pay with their phone, saving time and money. Businesses pay 0% payment processing fees and re-invest those savings into growing their businesses by attracting new customers and bringing them back. LevelUp is a part of SCVNGR, which is backed by Google Ventures, Balderton Capital, Continental Advisors, Highland Capital, Transmedia Capital and T-Venture, the venture arm of Deutsche-Telekom.

Contact Information:

Media Contact
LaunchSquad for LevelUp
Mike Farber or Erica Orthmann
levelup [at] launchsquad [dot] com
Boston office: 617-945-1915