Fintech OpenSparkz scores $1.5 million in over-subscribed round to tidy up the loyalty-card space

Rewards startup OpenSparkz has secured $1.5 million in an over-subscribed second seed-funding round, despite being pre-revenue.

Founded two years ago by chief executive Terry McMullen and co-founders Ian McKenzie, Debra Taylor and Nigel Lovell, OpenSparkz is a Platform-as-a-Service startup allowing consumers to consolidate multiple loyalty and points programs into one.

The investment was led by Louise Daley, deputy chief of Accor Hotels Asia Pacific, based in Singapore, who invested privately and will now sit on the OpenSparkz board.

The round also included additional contributions from the co-founders, as well as from existing backer and board member Andrew Lo, who is the founder and chief executive of Hong Kong-based EFT Payments.

Speaking to StartupSmart, McMullen explains there are 60 million loyalty memberships active in Australia alone — that’s an average of four for every adult.

However, the two-step process of finding the right card and scanning at the point of sale before paying is “a real engagement killer”, McMullen says.

OpenSparkz allows customers to register or link their existing loyalty schemes to a particular payment card. As long as they pay with that card, they will get the rewards. Read more

Stephanie Palmer-Derrien - Startup Smart - 15 Feb 2019