POP, a Bengaluru-based start-up, has announced that it has closed a $2.4 million seed funding round led by India Quotient and a few prominent angel investors recently. The Bengaluru-based start-up also announced that it had received approval as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to offer UPI payments via its POPclub app.
The company, in partnership with financial firms such as Yes Bank and Juspay, has built its UPI stack. The funding will help expedite the implementation of various initiatives, including the POP UPI service, which will enable users to earn POPcoins, a shopping currency.
As per the company, these POPcoins can be used to buy a wide range of products from all major direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in categories such as beauty, personal care, electronics, fashion, and home goods, all housed within the POPclub app.
Bhargav Errangi, Founder of POP, said, “POP's goal is to become the most sought-after go-to platform for payments and shopping for digitally active young Indians. As consumer behaviors evolve, we aim to provide innovative app experiences tailored to their interests in daily consumption."
POP joins prominent players like Google Pay, PhonePe, WhatsApp, CRED, and Paytm as a third-party app authorized to provide UPI payments. Marketed as ‘Designed to Reward,’ the POPclub UPI application is now available to download on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Madhukar, General Partner at India Quotient, said, “Acquisition and retention are two of the of the most challenging problems for D2C and consumer brands. We are very excited to partner with Bhargav and his team to solve this very hard problem and enable thousands of consumer brands to acquire and retain customers at a fraction of current costs.”
Since its launch in early May 2023, the company claims to have added over 200 brands to its network, including mCaffeine, HUL-owned Simple Skin Care, Adil Qadri, Anveshan, Two Brothers Organic Farms, and Epigamia. These brands have adopted POP's rewards currency, POPcoins, replacing their traditional loyalty programs and point systems within the D2C world.
