Hands In Bags £550,000 funding to shake up group payments
Payment startup Hands In has completed a $550,000 funding round to accelerate the commercialization of its group payment services.
Attract investment from GoCardless, Thredd (formerly GPS), Elavon, FIS, Pay.com, PayU, Curve and free trade, Hands In wants to shake up the way groups pay together online by giving customers the option to share the cost of the basket at checkout.
59 percent of purchases by Gen Z and Millennial travelers are in groups of at least three or more. However, group travelers often face frustration as they are forced to pay the entire cost up front using a single card, leading to failed transactions.
According to research, 20 percent of group travel bookings fail at checkout as a result. However, for many online travel agencies and airlines, building this solution on top of complex legacy infrastructure can be too expensive and time-consuming.
Solves the problem
The Hands In platform offers a simple plug-and-play solution to industries struggling to manage group purchases, such as travel, ticketing and hospitality.
It enables customers to divide the basket between the group equally or by item, and invite all group members into the transaction. Each customer can pay into the group at the same time without money from anyone in the group until everyone has signed up and confirmed their participation.
Global online travel agencies and airlines have established agreements with Hands In, including the fourth largest airline in Spain. In addition, prominent players in the payment industry have also signed commercial contracts with Hands In to integrate the company’s group payment services into their platforms.
Founder and CEO of Hands In, Samuel Flynnsaid: “Major players are looking for a solution that sits across their existing payments infrastructure and that’s exactly what Hands In provides. We are a young team delivering a solution to a real problem we faced and we are hugely grateful for our investors, who all see the potential for Hands In.”
“With this investment, we want to accelerate Hands In’s tremendous growth by supporting our global enterprise customers and payment partners. After that, we plan to expand our appeal to new applications and develop new products and services.”
Investor confidence
Gurinder Sumraformer CFO i Elavon Europe and FIS EMEA, is an investor in Hands. He said: “Solutions in the payments industry that meet customer needs in a simple way and are easy for operators and merchants to integrate and offer are few and far between. Hands In is one of the few companies that has this capability.”
While David Birch, director of Consult Hyperion and an advisor and investor in Hands In, added: “It’s a simple idea, executed exceptionally well by a team with a proven track record. I was delighted to have the opportunity to invest in Sam and his team.”
