Hard Yaka swings behind Yoyo Wallet for $30m

Yoyo Wallet, a UK-based mobile wallet technology producer backed by commercialisation firm IP Group, secured $30m in funding today through a strategic partnership agreement with investment firm Hard Yaka.
Yoyo Wallet was co-founded in 2013 by Touchstone Innovations, the commercialisation firm spun out of Imperial College London and since acquired by IP Group, and entrepreneurs hailing from the credit card industry.
The company operates a mobile app that combines payments with loyalty schemes and marketing tools that help retailers target consumers in store. Clients can also commission branded apps based on the platform.
The app made its debut across Imperial College’s food and drink outlets in 2014 and today counts large high-street players such as coffee chain Caffè Nero among its clients.
As part of the strategic partnership agreement, Yoyo will integrate its omni-channel technology with user identification platform Global iD, owned by Hard Yaka.
Yoyo Wallet previously raised $15.3m in a series B round backed by Touchstone and investment firm Woodford Investment Management, and led by the investment arm of wholesale and food retailer Metro Group’s digital division.
Touchstone led a $10m series A round in 2015, having already led a $5m seed round in 2014 with participation from telecoms firm Telefónica and Firestartr. In 2013, Touchstone had supplied $380,000 in funding to help launch Yoyo.
Greg Kidd, founder and chief executive of Hard Yaka, said: “We want to work in close cooperation with Yoyo to help execute our vision of creating a global ID framework. This will provide everyone with a secure and trusted private identity that protects consumers, improves society and fuels economic progress.
“Yoyo has a very sophisticated technology that includes a nimble application programming interface that makes it easy to integrate into the Yoyo Platform.
“This will enable users to pay for goods and services and receive loyalty rewards and other benefits through a mobile device – without compromising the security of the consumer or giving up more private details than necessary.”
– Feature image courtesy of Yoyo Wallet