Flint Mobile Launches Beta

At the Finovate conference today, Flint Mobile, Inc. (www.flintmo.com), announced the Beta launch of its first offering, a next-generation mobile payments app for small businesses on-the-go, as well as the close of its Series A funding. Flint Co-founder and CEO Greg Goldfarb will introduce the application as part of Finovate’s Demo Session #5 starting at 9:00 am Wednesday local time. Led by Storm Ventures and True Ventures, the $3 million financing will enable Flint to accelerate product development, hiring, and customer acquisition.

Flint’s first product is a free iPhone™ app that enables merchants to easily and securely process credit card payments using only their phone. Unlike existing solutions that require a separate card reader, Flint uses the phone’s camera to process payments without the use of any additional hardware. The company’s proprietary platform provides merchants with unmatched ease of use along with high levels of consumer privacy protection and fraud prevention to help keep processing fees in check. The app also integrates customizable receipts with built-in social marketing tools that enable merchants to better engage with their customers and to tap into online word-of-mouth referrals.

“Flint’s goal is to transform the everyday commerce capabilities of tens of millions of small services businesses and sole proprietors who are highly mobile,” said Greg Goldfarb, Co-founder and CEO of Flint Mobile. “Our first product takes the hassle out of on-the-go credit card processing and provides an easy on-ramp to capitalize on social marketing. Essentially, we are starting to turn credit card transaction fees into an investment in online customer engagement.”

The U.S. has seen a 70% increase in the number of independent agents in the workforce since 2008*, indicating a shift towards more sole proprietorships that have much different needs from retail operations. These on-the-go business owners insist on simplicity and want a way to accept credit cards without worrying about extra hardware or accessories. Moreover, the number one issue keeping them up at night is how to find new customers.** Flint addresses both these problems by taking the card reader out of the equation and by linking everyday transactions to social media channels to drive word-of-mouth referrals.

Flint Features and Benefits

• Ease of use: no extra hardware required; simply scan the main card number using your phone’s camera and enter card verification info; no data or image is saved on the phone. 
• Social marketing: integrated tools that empower and engage customers to easily post reviews and recommendations to popular social media channels such as Facebook; generate more repeat business via customized loyalty offers in every receipt.
• Low transaction fees: 1.95% + $0.20 per transaction for debit cards and 2.95% + $0.20 per transaction for credit cards. Flint is among the first in the mobile category to offer lower debit card fees.
• Frictionless Setup: no merchant account headaches or upfront costs and no waiting to get a card reader.
• Safety and security: data is protected according to industry PCI DSS guidelines, and Flint has developed patent pending methods to protect consumer privacy. 

“Flint will be a game changer in the world of mobile payments for small businesses,” said Alex Mendez, Founding Managing Director of Storm Ventures. “They have created a simple approach that couples payments and social marketing to provide a huge leap forward for the mobile small businesses that form the backbone of our economy. The Flint team consists of seasoned executives who have created market-leading products, and we’re very excited to be teaming up with them.”

Small business owners and merchants interested in more information or in requesting an invitation to the Beta program should sign up at www.flintmo.com. Flint also will be offering an integration program for a select set of distribution partners. Follow Flint on Twitter at www.twitter.com/flintmo and like Flint on Facebook at www.facebook.com/flintmo.