HalCash North America (HCNA), referred to in the U.S. as its operating brand Pin4™, announced the acquisition of a majority equity ownership stake in HalCash International (HCI). HalCash International is based in Madrid and is the developer and owner of the HalCash system—a patented, mobile-phone-based technology enabling real-time cardless cash withdrawals at ATMs without the need for a credit card, debit card or bank account.
The HalCash system was developed in Spain by ABANCA, Bankinter, Banco Popular, Cajamar and Caja Laboral. The system currently provides access to more than 8,000 ATMs throughout Spain and is used by financial institutions, marketing companies, remittance companies and other businesses to deliver real-time cash payments to their customers. In 2016, HCI conducted more than 800,000 transactions and is expected to exceed 1,000,000 transactions in 2017.
In 2015, Pin4 was formed to bring the highly-successful HalCash system to the U.S under the brand Pin4. Pin4’s controlling interest allows for an accelerated growth strategy that will aggressively expand the system into new countries to create a global cardless cash network. This expansion turns ATMs into mobile money terminals by combining the 4.8 billion global mobile phone users with the 3 million globally deployed ATMs, according to GSMA and ATMIA respectively.
This innovative system evolves the traditional consumer ATM experience, allowing for cardless disbursement of in-country and cross-border transactions such as person-to-person transfers, emergency cash, disaster relief, and consumer promotions and rewards. The system is secured by a patented dual-pin authorization process, which gives disbursing companies access to a complete consumer base—the banked, under-banked and unbanked communities.
“Today’s consumers are both mobile-centric and global,” said Richard Witkowski, CEO of Pin4. “The ability to disburse funds to this consumer base regardless of card and bank status is invaluable to our customers—from retailers and marketing companies to banking institutions and remittance companies. Pin4 was built to meet this need. And, now, we are properly positioned to rapidly take this capability global.”
The transaction was led by U.S. fintech private equity firm Ashby Point Capital—an early HCNA investor. “We’re excited about the prospects for cardless ATM technology,” said Jim Leroux, new CEO of HCI and current Ashby Point Capital Partner. “By exporting the highly-successful HalCash system from Spain to the U.S. and new countries globally, we will unlock the potential of the millions of ATMs around the world.”
About Ashby Point Capital
Ashby Point Capital is a specialized private equity firm focused exclusively on investing in growth companies in the payments/financial services areas. Ashby Point was founded by Bill Westervelt and Jim Leroux, both of whom are payment industry veterans with 25+ years of experience advising, operating and investing in payments companies. Bill and Jim are active “hands-on” investors and provide significant support and guidance to their portfolio companies. To date, Ashby Point has made nine investments, including companies in the cardless ATM cash, gift/prepaid card, healthcare transaction processing, credit reporting, merchant acquiring, cross-border bill payment and debt collections areas. For more information, visit http://www.ashbypointcapital.com.
About Pin4™
Launched in 2015, Pin4 is the first independent cardless cash network in the U.S. The network provides real-time cash delivery at enabled ATMs without the need for a debit/credit card or bank account. This capability enables next generation P2P transfers, consumer promotions and rewards delivery, and other use cases. Pin4 also creates new revenue streams for ATM owners. Pin4 continues to roll-out across the U.S. with major footprints in Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and New York City. For more information, please visit http://www.pin4.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
