Openbucks builds a payment network that enables consumers—especially the unbanked, under-banked, or privacy-sensitive—to pay for online purchases using retailers' gift cards. Its system currently supports cards from Subway, CVS Pharmacy, Burger King, Shell (coming next week), Circle-K and CITGO, and focuses primarily on virtual goods in online games (around 500 games supported). The company reports having “tens of thousands of users” and “hundreds of thousands” of transactions on its network to date. Openbucks is preparing to expand into other verticals and is working on integrations with payment gateways such as First Data and Ceridian Stored Value. Management says future product options may let users pay things like utility bills with gift cards. The startup is based in Santa Clara and Los Angeles and currently has a team of ten, planning to hire five to six more engineers and business development staff by year-end. The new funding will be used to bring more merchants onto the system and to support hiring and product expansion.

Total raised

$5M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jul 2012