Blispay, a Baltimore-based financial technology company, has raised $12 million to accelerate the marketing and sales outreach for its financing platform.
The Series A round was led by FirstMark, Accomplice and NEA. New investors included Camden Partners and F-Prime Capital. The round brings the company’s total funding to just under $25 million.
“We’re very proud to be able to close a $12 million round,” said CEO Greg Lisiewski. “We’re optimistic we’ll use it as a springboard to bigger and better things to come.”
Blispay provides a financing program for small and midsized retailers to offer to their customers. The program is intended to give small businesses an answer to the credit cards offered by larger retailers that allow customers to pay off purchases over time.
“Our value to the merchants is to help them compete with big box stores and drive the top line,” Lisiewski said.
Customers of a Blispay merchant partner can apply on their phones or online for a Visa credit card that has no interest and no payments on purchases of $199 or more, if the charge is paid in full within six months. The card also gives customers 2 percent cashback on all purchases.
Lisiewski said the program has been popular among middle-market companies. About 500 merchants currently use Blispay and shoppers have made more than 100,000 transactions with the company, according to Blispay.
To date, most of the company’s merchant partners have been concentrated within the Mid-Atlantic region, but with the new funding, Blispay plans to broaden its geographic reach.
Blispay was founded in 2014 by Lisiewski, a former executive at Bill Me Later, the Timonium online payment company that was acquired by eBay and is now part of PayPal. Blispay has 27 employees.
Vince Talbert, a co-founder of Bill Me Later and a partner at Camden Partners, is joining Blispay’s board.
Lisiewski said he is eager to work with Talbert, who hired him at Bill Me Later.
“It’s great getting back with a team that really knows the space,” Lisiewski said.
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