A touch-free, physical-digital payment platform helping charities, retailers and publishers drive engagement with customers, is the latest business to receive investment from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) via The FSE Group.
Camden based company, Thyngs Ltd, delivers innovative solutions that use frictionless smartphone technology to help its clients drive new forms of consumer engagement that are fit for a digital, cashless, COVID-19 world. Thyngs helps brands develop and monitor their offline marketing by turning any product, packaging, or advertisement into an interactive point-of-sale, without the need for human intervention.
Thyngs use simple, built-in smartphone technology, like QR code and Near Field Communication (NFC), for experiences to work across 3.5bn smartphone users worldwide, without an app. Its software negates the need for restrictive card terminals, giving clients the flexibility to take payments on-the-go using any physical object, whilst also using trusted tap-and-go payment providers such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.
The current environment around Covid-19 is proving challenging for many businesses. Fortunately, Thyngs is well-positioned to help support its clients as they see an increasing demand for touch-free, cashless solutions that continue to work at-home. Outside of the current pandemic, Thyngs solutions can be anything from gaining digital loyalty points when buying a coffee, to giving directly to charity by tapping a unique fundraising badge.
Charities are being hit particularly hard this Spring, with cancelled face-to-face fundraising events, plummeting donations and fewer volunteers, at a time when many will be experiencing an increase in demand for their services. Thyngs are helping them stay connected with donors in new and safe ways, encouraging at-home fundraising material and amplified online collection efforts. In partnership with a donation management organisation, Thyngs has introduced the opportunity for any business to support one of up to 18,000 charities by transforming their product’s packaging, such as groceries, into instant donation points for consumers to engage with at home.
The £250,000 GLIF loan will be used to increase the sales and marketing operation as well as further develop the technology and purchase associated hardware.
Dr Neil Garner, Thyngs Founder and CEO, says: “It is great to be working alongside Jerry and the GLIF team with a loan that has come at an extremely important time. Thanks to the loan, we will be able to accelerate our growth plans and continue to help businesses adjust to the immediate and long-term changes this tough pandemic has highlighted we need to make. Businesses and charities will be searching for safe, touch-free contactless solutions to move forward sustainably, and we will be able to offer them cost-effective and robust solutions.”
Jerry Donohue, Senior Fund Manager for The FSE Group, which managed the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, comments: “With a strong management team and an offering which delivers USPs unmatched by the competition, Thyngs is well-placed to take advantage of the growing market for smartphone customer engagements and transactions. We look forward to continuing to work with them as they look to grow the business across the UK and beyond.”
Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Developing a powerful value proposition and discovering a way to turn challenges into opportunities is what the Thyngs team excel at. We are extremely delighted to support the team’s expansion by creating much needed job opportunities during the pandemic.”
GLIF is a £100m initiative to help address the SME finance gap in Greater London, promoting economic growth through enterprise and an inclusive and sustainable economy. £55m of debt funding is available, via loans between £100,000 and £1m, to early-stage and established SMEs looking to scale-up and realise their growth ambitions. GLIF is financed through the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), London Waste & recycling Board (LWARB) and Funding London’s Legacies.
