Travel tech company Swiipr has raised £6m in Series A funding to digitise flight cancellation payments.
It is estimated that over 500 million passengers worldwide are affected by flight disruptions each year, forcing airlines to pay out billions of dollars as well as suffering significant customer dissatisfaction, reputational damage and regulatory fines, with compensation now on the agenda for airline boardrooms.
Paper vouchers are slow to process and issue, prone to fraud, notoriously unfriendly to retailers and passengers, and environmentally unsustainable, bank transfers can take months to process, cash is unsafe and expensive to handle at airports, and points and future travel vouchers are often unpopular.
Launched in 2020, Swiipr enables airlines to digitize payments during disruptions, significantly improving passenger experience and increasing cost efficiencies by up to 60 percent.
The company's integrated digital platform includes virtual and physical prepaid compensation cards and a mobile app, giving airlines the tools they need to solve pain points for both themselves and their passengers, while remaining fully compliant with the latest passenger rights regulations.
Swiipr is already being used by 26 airlines in 70 countries, including major flag carriers with 4,000 staff using the platform in over 167 airports worldwide.
For passengers, Swiipr has launched the Swiipr Compensation Card, which allows airlines to distribute funds directly to passengers in the event of disruptions such as denied boarding or lost baggage, and the Swiipr Welfare Card, which allows airlines to instantly distribute payments for meals and drinks if a flight is delayed.
These cards offer instant, secure and compliant payments in a streamlined digital format that is compatible with retailers globally.
The platform also helps airlines significantly reduce fraud and processing times, increase loyalty through personalized offers, and gain important customer retail insights. Additionally, airlines can also use Swiipr's card product for operational and emergency payments to staff and crew during trips and delays.
Octopus Ventures led the funding with support from TX Ventures and Solano Partners.
“We're thrilled to be working with Salesforce to bring the power of Salesforce to the market,” said Tara Spielhagen, co-founder and CEO of Swiipr.
“Traditional reward systems are not fit for purpose and not only do they cost airlines billions of dollars every year, they also exacerbate confusion and stress.
In the digital age, this doesn't have to be the case. We're proud to have developed a new solution that solves many pain points, and our airline partners and their customers are already seeing the benefits.”
Tosin Agbabiaka, Principal at Octopus Ventures, said:
“Swiipr’s founders have the deep expertise in both the payments and travel industries needed to tackle airline rewards challenges.
THis complementary skillset and the effectiveness of the solution have enabled Swiipr to gain strong support from major global operators already at an early stage of development.”
“TX Ventures is a game changer,” said Jens Schleuniger, managing partner at TX Ventures.
“Swiipr has developed a cutting-edge payment solution that allows all airlines to address compensation quickly while providing significant benefits to both passengers and individual airlines.
Beyond the software solution itself, we're particularly impressed with the two founders, Tara and Ian, and the traction Swiipr has built. The team has already secured a number of Tier 1 customers and is clearly on its way to becoming the clear market leader in the passenger compensation space.”
The funds will be used to develop Swiipr's strategy, product and technology, including investments in research and development, AI and data analytics, and to drive growth in the international aviation market.
Lead image: Swiipr.
