Bitcoin Payments Startup Raises €300K to Develop Payroll Service
PEY, a startup engaged in bitcoin-based payments through POS terminals and mobile apps, has reportedly raised €300,000 in seed funding.
PEY, a startup engaged in bitcoin-based payments through point-of-sale (POS) terminals and mobile apps, has reportedly raised €300,000 ($339,800) in seed funding.
The investment was made by a number of entrepreneurs including former managing director of Zalanda, Frank Biedka. The funds will go toward developing the startup’s bitcoin-powered payroll service, scheduled for launch this fall.
PEY founder and managing director Ricardo Ferrer Rivero told CoinDesk: “The new funding will be used to hire developers, pay lawyers for everything necessary to make in-depth checks on what we are offering to customers and to ensure that we find legal workarounds that help expand bitcoin adoption.”
The notion of having employees getting paid in bitcoin was popularized last year through various initiatives and varying degrees of success. It is thought that employees taking home their paycheck in bitcoin will help increase adoption, as it brings bitcoin a step closer to feeling like real money and saves them the burden of having to buy bitcoins.
However, many employees would be averse to taking home a currency whose spending power may be a fraction of what it is today in a year from now.
The Hanover, Germany-based startup is looking to leverage the fact that in the country, bitcoin is not considered a currency.
Currently, the startup is focusing on expanding its user base, with plans for monetization to be developed once it has “enough happy people and companies on both sides.”
Crypto industry venture funding has gotten a boost in September following a lackluster summer. The industry has raised $46.8 million this month, the most since May, with half the month to go.
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