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An Australia-based payments processor and rewards player is launching in the U.S, market on the back of $28 million in fresh investor funding. PayRewards, which specializes in small businesses, says it will offer rewards on a wide range of corporate spending, including automated clearing house transactions as well as credit card payments.
A unit of the 7-year-old Melbourne-based processor Pay.com.au, PayRewards says businesses can earn points that are redeemable against hotel stays and airline flights. The company, which says it charges no monthly platform fee for the service, levies charges when businesses opt to earn points. The fees could not be immediately determined. Points earned on unrelated credit card programs can be added to any PayRewards points, the company says, referring to this as “the double dip.”
“PayRewards is an end-to-end platform making it simple to pay anyone, by card or bank transfer, and earn full credit card and PayRewards Points in return,” says Blake Hutchison, the company’s U.S chief executive, in a statement. Before coming to PayRewards this spring, Hutchison served for nearly eight years as CEO of Flippa.com, an online marketplace for digital assets.
The PayRewards program can be used by businesses in 45 states, the company says, adding the program is “not yet available” in Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Washington, D.C., is also not yet on board.
PayRewards’ thrust in the U.S. market comes as its latest Series E funding round brings its total capital raised to $70 million. The company says it processes for more than 30,000 businesses, with PayRewards points good at 16 airline, hotel, and card companies.
