Phos, the UK-based and Bulgaria-born fintech firm that created the first-ever software PoS, which allows merchants to accept payments directly on their phones, has raised €1.3 million in a fundraising round during the coronavirus pandemic.
The round was led by New Vision 3 and also saw new angel investment in the business. This brings the total amount raised by the business to €2.5M.
Turn your Android phone to payment terminal!
With this funding, the company is planning to grow its development team and to introduce new features like PIN on Phone, its Software Development Kit (SDK), and a new integrated loyalty system.
The software developed by phos offers a new method of payment acceptance via smartphones – it turns any Android device into a payments terminal, eliminating the need for additional hardware and reducing TCO (total cost of ownership).
Phos offers rapid digital deployment and is uniquely phone and bank agnostic – any NFC Android phone or tablet can be used, and any bank can act as the acquirer.
Certification with VISA and Mastercard!
This company offers merchants a replacement of old and expensive technology with devices they already own like their phones – and a leapfrog for millions of underserved merchants who are hamstrung by handling costly and unsecure cash.
Based out of Sofia and London Phos was established in 2018 by payments supremo Antonina Martinova, serial entrepreneur Valeri Valtchev and financial services veteran Ivo Gueorguiev, to democratise card acceptance and payments in general.
The POS platform provider is a regulated e-money institution fully licensed to operate across the EU and certified by VISA and Mastercard laboratories for functionality and security. It has offices in London and Bulgaria.
Brad Hyett, Director of phos, said,
“We have an opportunity to revolutionise payment acceptance and help merchants adapt quickly to a cashless society. Phos helps merchants remove the need to use cash and get up and running quickly with existing hardware – NFC-enabled Android phones or tablets – rather than additional POS hardware from other vendors. With over 33 million merchants in Europe unable to take card payments currently, the ease of deployment and speed-to-cash that phos offers customers means we are well placed to be the leader in this category.”
Konstantin Petrov, Partner at NV3, commented,
“We are very happy to lead the investment round in phos and truly believe in the high potential of the company. The all important prerequisites for success are there: a strong and visionary team with years of experience in the field, a huge under-served market of small merchants who do not accept payments other than cash and an innovative technology providing first-mover advantage. In addition, fintech is considered a strategic vertical in the investment strategy of NV3 Fund, so phos is clearly a perfect add to our portfolio.”
New Vision 3 Fund is an early-stage VC fund, the successor of NEVEQ I and NEVEQ II, veterans of the VC industry in Bulgaria and the region. NV3 Fund operates from Sofia, Bulgaria and invests in tech-enabled high-growth companies aspiring to hold leadership positions in the global and/or domestic markets. The Fund is co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds under the Operational Program for Innovation and Competitiveness 2014-2020, managed by the Fund of Funds in Bulgaria.
Main image credits: Phos
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