Dopay raises $2.5 million in pre-Series A round

London-based dopay, a payroll service provider for the unbanked, raised $2.4 million in a pre-Series A funding round. Techstars Ventures and Force Over Mass Capital led the round. To date dopay has secured $4.6 million in funding.

PRESS RELASE

London, January 29, 2016 – dopay, the company which uses payroll to reach the largest untapped sector in retail banking, has secured US$2.4 million in pre-series A funding in a round led by Techstars Ventures and Force Over Mass Capital. The funds will further the launch of the company’s services in Egypt and help drive expansion into new markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Currently, two billion people worldwide have jobs but no bank account. This means they are cut off from even the most basic financial services. Companies that employ these people feel this acutely; they have to manage large amounts of cash, which is costly and inconvenient.

dopay is committed to transforming the lives of the unbanked and their employers by breaking the cash cycle through a payroll and cash management platform for companies, and by offering a full mobile banking experience for consumers.

“When the opportunity presented itself to extend our runway, we happily took it”, says dopay founder & CEO Frans van Eersel. “The new investors in the round give us access to a wide network of contacts that will accelerate our growth. Moreover, the funding allows us to scale up our team both in development and sales.”

“dopay is tapping into one of the biggest opportunities in fintech: banking the unbanked. They have a great team and took the right steps to bring them to where they are today”, says Ari Newman, partner of Techstars Ventures. “We are excited to support dopay in reaching the next level.”

Martijn de Wever, CEO of Force Over Mass, comments: “dopay is one of those exceptional companies that have come up with a total solution; creating a win-win situation for both the corporate and the consumer. It is a smart multi-stakeholder approach which has proven to be very successful.”

dopay was part of the first cohort of the Barclays Accelerator program, powered by Techstars, in London. The company works closely with leading bank and card partners such as Barclays and VISA in Egypt to create strong financial communities that offer life-changing benefits to its members. Together with these partners, dopay will continue to add new ways for the previously ‘unbanked’ and ‘underserved’ to grow in prosperity.

About dopay

dopay’s mission is to become the ‘day-to-day’ financial services institution in markets with largely unbanked and financially underserved populations. It provides a cloud-based payroll service that allows employers to calculate salaries and pay all employees electronically. Unbanked employees receive their salary in a dopay account, which comes with a debit card that allows employees to withdraw cash at any ATM or pay with the card in any store that accepts VISA. Consumers can manage their ‘day-to-day’ finance with the dopay app, which gives users instant and real-time access to their balance. It also lets users top-up their prepaid mobile and send money, anywhere anytime. Egypt is the company’s first operating market. Follow dopay on Twitter at @dopayHQ.

About Techstars Ventures

Techstars Ventures is the venture capital arm of Techstars. We have $265 million under management and are currently investing out of our third fund totaling $150 million which is focused on Seed and Series A investments. We primarily co-invest alongside venture capital and angel communities in Techstars accelerator program graduates, new companies started by Techstars alumni, and companies formed by Techstars mentors.

About Force Over Mass (FOM)

FOM is bridging the gap between Venture Capital and Crowdfunding through its unique, fully transparent technological investment solution. Regulated by the FCA, it is fast becoming the number one choice for serious investors looking to invest in early stage technology companies. FOM allows investors to gain access to exclusive deal-flow instantly, taking advantage of both EIS/SEIS with the first steps being taken to the creation for a secondary market exchange.