Dapio raises $3.4m to bring ‘Tap to Pay’ to Android users in the UK and Europe

By Joy Dumasia

Dapio, the cashless payment solutions provider for businesses, announced it had raised $3.4 million in growth funding to fuel the launch of its’ Tap to Pay’ solution for Android users in the UK and Europe. Flutterwave led the financing alongside Techstars, PactVC and Daniel Gould, venture partner at Asymmetry Ventures. 

Dapio, formerly Paymob, makes it easy for businesses to accept cashless payments quickly and securely in-store, over the phone or on the move, anywhere in the world. Its technology transforms any Android smartphone into a payment terminal able to accept contactless payments. 

To date, microbusinesses and sole traders have faced multiple challenges when taking payments from customers, including the need to invest in clunky and expensive hardware and additional fees. With contactless payments exploding, which now make up a quarter of all UK payments, the need for a frictionless solution is more urgent than ever. And while Apple has recently announced plans to launch Tap to Pay on iPhone in the US later this year, this excludes the millions of Android users that make up 42% of the US mobile market, 46% in the UK and 71% globally (StatCounter). 

Despite microbusinesses, gig workers and sole traders being the backbone of the UK and European economies, until now, they have been underserved by traditional payments providers. An estimated 3.2 million sole traders in the UK make up 75% of all businesses. Dapio gives these underserved businesses access to the same robust payments infrastructure as larger organisations. This spring, the company will launch its first direct-to-customer Android app to allow any business to instantly accept contactless payments with the tap of a card or mobile phone, without the hassle and cost of card scanning equipment. 

Founded in London in 2019 by FinTech veterans Kosta Du and Grigory Gurbanov, Dapio also partners with POS (point of sale) vendors, banks, telcos and other FinTechs and payment platforms who integrate its tech to offer their merchant customers’ Tap to Pay’ facilities, as part of its embedded finance solutions. Its current partners include ZmBIZI and Payment Plus. 

Kosta Du, CEO & Co-Founder of Dapio, said, “In a world where we make more transactions than ever, it’s still far too difficult for small businesses to take payments from customers. It’s normal for consumers to make payments using their smartphones, so why not allow small businesses to take payments as well? ‘Tap to Pay’ has shown the world you don’t need complicated or expensive hardware to take frictionless payments. Our mission is to open this up to Android users across the UK and Europe. In doing so, we’re helping businesses grow faster by taking the pain out of complex payment systems so founders can focus on what’s important: improving the customer experience and developing their business.”