Member Article

Droplet chooses London for ?capital? payment revolution

After a successful Beta trial in Britain’s second city, homegrown mobile payments platform Droplet is celebrating its London launch with an event on Regent Street, later this month (20th March).

Droplet is a mobile payments app that lets you load money onto your phone and send payments for free. 60 merchants in Birmingham signed up within weeks after being impressed with ‘no transactional fees’ and over 2,500 users have downloaded and registered with the App.

The move to the capital marks a significant step-change for the business, which was founded in 2012 by a team of young tech entrepreneurs over an informal coffee-shop discussion.

“We’ve been thrilled with the response to our initial Beta trial,” explained co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steffan Aquarone.

“Birmingham is a tremendous city and a great place to try something new with a receptive audience and a vibrant independent retail scene. We knew if we could prove the concept, we’d have a successful model we could roll out across the UK.”

Droplet’s initial success has been down to its ease of use and the attraction of choosing an alternative to banking and credit card systems, with the London launch marking the introduction of some of its ‘killer features’.

In the coming weeks, users will be able to do more than just send payments. Thanks to Droplet Tools: the ‘platform’, developers can build customised features for merchants so they can offer extra things to people who pay with the App, from mobile loyalty to pre-order options.

This means users being able to do more with their phones and an end to the frustrating barriers they usually experience when paying via mobile.

“We know about delivering a great payment experience, which is why we’re opening up the platform to let other developers build the things they know about,” continued co-founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Will Grant.

“Whether you want to help people get everything together for an evening out, dispatch virtual goods in seconds, or allow customers to order without leaving their seats, Droplet Tools helps realise the true potential of mobile commerce.”

Being fee-free has proven particularly popular with small businesses, but Droplet isn’t just for independents.

The team has been negotiating with tens of large, national retailers and the first of these will be announced at the London launch, along with their specific needs so developers have live, paid projects to start building on the platform.

Brand Director Karen Hughes picked up the story: “A lot of Droplet’s success is down to the satisfaction you get when you choose something completely outside of the traditional banking and card sector. It’s a way for people to make an active choice in a part of their lives that’s usually heavily prescribed.

“With our App there’s no more handing over your card and waiting to be ‘approved’ – you’re in control with your phone and now that extends to more than just payments.”

The event in London on the 20th will provide an overview of Droplet and a guide to all of the new ‘killer features’.

Future plans include the roll-out of the App to other major cities across the UK, including Bristol, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .