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Runa, Formerly WeGift, Closes £26 Million Series B Funding as Demand for the Digital Payouts Platform Surges

Written by Joana Rocha | Nov 15, 2022 2:00:00 PM

The Digital Currency Network Now Opens Real-Times Payout Access to More than 1 Billion Consumers Worldwide

 

LONDON, November 15, 2022 -- WeGift, the industry leader in digital payouts, today announced the closing of a £26 million Series B, furthering its mission to allow anyone to transfer any digital currency more freely across the globe. 

New investors included Element Ventures, which led the round, along with Clocktower Ventures and Volution. Existing investors including CommerzVentures, AlbionVC and SAP increased their investments.

WeGift is at the forefront of the payouts revolution, making digital currency and stored value of any kind move more efficiently among organisations, merchants and individuals. The company has doubled revenue annually every year since its founding, and expects that trend to continue. These funds will be used to expand its digital currency network, support growth in new geographies - with a focus on North America - make key hires, and add new features and functionality to its already-robust solution.

“We’re building the world’s leading infrastructure for moving stored value, and these funds will help us accelerate our growth,” said Aron Alexander, CEO and founder. “Innovations in payouts have been few and far between, leading to solutions that no longer match the speed with which business operates. Our digital currency network gives corporate and platform users powerful tools to incentivize, reward, drive conversion, disburse funds and more.”

“Element Ventures is honoured to partner with WeGift on their journey to becoming a global digital currency network,” said Mike McFadgen, partner at Element Ventures. “They’ve created a simple, elegant solution to an extremely complex problem, and they have fantastic traction. They’re well positioned to have a major impact on how value moves and commerce functions. We look forward to working with them in the years to come as they revolutionise payouts.”

The investment comes at an exciting time for WeGift. The company surpassed 120 employees in October and recently announced major wins in new customers and brands added to its network. So far in 2022, WeGift has added well over 100 brands, including AirBnB, Nike, Instacart, Dunkin’, Aldi and many more. New customers include Mint Mobile, WishList, ThanksBen and Xoxoday.

Among those new additions are a number of key members of the leadership team. Robert Lang, special partner at Vitruvian Partners, joined in August as Chairman of the board. Brendan Miller, formerly of Rapyd, joins the company as Chief Marketing Officer, and Ashley Stepien, formerly of Ramp, has joined in an advisory capacity.

“There’s an enormous and growing need for instant, efficient payouts,” said Heiko Schwender, a partner with CommerzVentures and a Series A investor. “WeGift are at the convergence of a massive opportunity created by a blend of factors, including remote work, the gig economy, eCommerce adoption and increased customer expectations. They’re a true innovator at the forefront of an industry with huge growth potential, and we’re thrilled to take this journey with them.”

 

About WeGift

WeGift enables some of the largest and most-influential companies to disburse funds to the people they serve for rewards, refunds, rebates, remittances and more. The WeGift network connects merchants, individuals and organisations to instantly send digital currencies around the globe. WeGift removes friction to make payouts fast, affordable, effortless, and personalised. Operating in more than 30 countries, 20 currencies and more than a dozen languages, WeGift’s catalogue includes more than 1,500 beloved brands from around the world. Our customers include Sodexo, Vodafone, Wonde, Mint Mobile and many more.