May 09, 2011 09:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time
NEA Funding Fuels National Expansion of Mobile Payment Solution
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tabbedout, the secure and convenient way to open, view and pay your tab with a smartphone, has secured $3.7 million in additional funding from New Enterprise Associates (NEA) to complete the company’s Series A round of venture funding, totaling $5.75 million.
“Now that we’re increasing our availability in market and making life easier for merchants and their patrons, it’s time to turn our attention to consumer awareness and adoption in key markets. This round of funding from NEA will be instrumental in accomplishing that goal.”
The completion of this round brings the company’s financing to $6.5 million in total from investors including NEA, Trellis Partners and angel investors. The funds will be used to further accelerate the company’s rapid growth – Tabbedout has doubled both the size of its staff and its national footprint since the first tranche of the Series A round was announced in October 2010.
“We’re seeing extensive demand for our mobile payment solution, particularly from POS vendors who are integrating the solution into their offerings for restaurants and bars across the country,” said Rick Orr, CEO, Tabbedout. “Now that we’re increasing our availability in market and making life easier for merchants and their patrons, it’s time to turn our attention to consumer awareness and adoption in key markets. This round of funding from NEA will be instrumental in accomplishing that goal.”
To that end, the company recently named Arturo Coto, founder of technology, business consulting and marketing services companies, to the position of vice president of marketing. Coto will lead the charge to grow consumer adoption of the Tabbedout mobile payment solution, creating strategy and programs that transform the way people pay for their tabs.
Available for free on both iPhone and Android smartphones, the Tabbedout application was built by security experts with ease of use and marketing capabilities in mind. Unlike other mobile payment platforms, Tabbedout allows users to store credit card information directly on their phone, encrypted and under passphrase protection, instead of on host servers. Consumers are safe from the threat of lost or stolen credit cards and can open, view and pay their tab at their own pace, and share their social experiences with friends via Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, all within the application.
"With their rapid growth in venue deployment through solid partnerships with industry leaders like MICROS, Tabbedout is emerging as the clear leader in the mobile payments space," said Scott Sandell, NEA general partner and Tabbedout board member. "We are pleased to participate in this final tranche of funding to fuel their growth and market leadership, helping to make mobile payments a reality today."
Currently, Tabbedout’s powerful payment solution has enabled thousands of mobile payments at a network of bars and restaurants across 20 states in 90 cities. Also announced today, the company announced that leading POS vendor MICROS will now embed Tabbedout into its POS offering, significantly impacting the number of merchants offering the Tabbedout service.
About New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is a leading venture capital and growth equity firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors, and geographies. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA invests in information technology, healthcare, and energy technology companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of successful investing includes more than 165 portfolio company IPOs and more than 265 acquisitions. In the U.S., NEA has two offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and one in Menlo Park, California. In addition, New Enterprise Associates (India) Pvt. Ltd. has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, India, and New Enterprise Associates (Beijing), Ltd. has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China.
For additional information, visit www.nea.com.
About Tabbedout
Tabbedout®is the cure for forgotten credit cards and missing out on a good time. Tabbedout makes mobile payment a simple and secure process that is widely available, so that bars and restaurants can spend more time with their customers. The free Tabbedout mobile app for iPhone and Android lets consumers open a tab with their mobile phone, view their tab in real-time and pay the tab anytime, anywhere, putting them in control over how and when they pay. For more information, visit: http://www.tabbedout.com/ or contact sales@tabbedout.com to learn more about becoming a Tabbedout partner.
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