About - CardFree

Unparalleled Experience Coupled with the Industry's Only Integrated Platform.

CardFree was founded by the team that developed the original Starbucks and Dunkin’ mobile apps, which are two of the most successful commerce deployments in the U.S. The team set out to answer the market need for a commerce platform that includes all services needed for consumer engagement. We hold the patent for our technology that integrates ordering, offers, payments and loyalty into one tap/scan or payload.

One tap – one platform – is all you need.

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Management Team

Jon Squire

CEO

Diane Hong

CMO

Sen Wen

CTO

Chuck Davidson

Head of Customer Engagement

Alan Paul

Head of Strategy and ROI

Awards

Winner Red Herring Top 100 North America 20

Best Mobile Payment App (Wallet, App, Feature or Service) PX Payments Awards Winner 2016

Best Mobile Start up Mobile Excellence Awards 2015 Winner

The RB/FSTEC Awards: Digital All-Stars CardFree® for Best app: Taco Bell The RB/FSTEC Awards 2015 Winner

Best Use of Mobile for Retail, Brands & Commerce CardFree® for Taco Bell Mobile App GLOMO Awards 2015 Finalist

Why it’s Fierce: CardFree® wants to make mobile payments and walletwork from a more agnostic direction. 2013 FierceWireless Fierce 15

Frost & Sullivan – Best Mobile Merchant Platform Award

Companies to Watch: CardFree®

News & Press

Mobile Solutions Company CardFree Launches Text-to-Pay & New Merchant App

March 26, 2021

CardFree delivery, ordering service helps restaurants keep more revenue

Feb. 15, 2021

How restaurants are bringing tech to the table in 2021

Jan. 28th 2021

Torchy's Tacos Taps Cardfree

January 12, 2021

Restaurants are Drowning in POS Vendors’ Moats

August 4th, 2020

No Touching! CardFree Helps Restaurants Keep their Distance

July 2nd, 2020.

Press Releases

Cardfree & Torchy's embrace new Contactless Ordering System

CARDFREE AND TORCHY’S TACOS EMBRACE NEW CONTACTLESS ORDERING & SERVICES IN A NEW PARTNERSHIP ACROSS ALL TORCHY’S TACOS LOCATIONS

In partnership with CardFree, Torchy’s Is Deploying A Full Suite Of Contact-Free Services Both On And Off-Premise To Enhance The Consumer Experience.

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) –– As the restaurant industry continues evolving alongside consumer preferences during a pandemic era, operators and owners are seeking long-term contactless solutions that go beyond just the immediate needs at hand, while understanding that the public health crisis has permanently changed the dine-in experience for the foreseeable future. CardFree––an established leader in mobile solutions––has become more prominent this year due to its ability to straddle both the current climate and the long game by offering restaurants the most comprehensive suite of mobile ordering services in the market as well as positively impacting their bottom line.

Ahead of the new year, CardFree has now partnered with the beloved craft-casual restaurant brand, Torchy’s Tacos, known for its unique and differentiated ‘Damn Good Tacos’ across its 83 locations in seven states. In November 2020, CardFree updated Torchy’s online ordering and on-premise contactless services, which are now live in Torchy’s locations in Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. CardFree’s services streamline and enhance the user experience on the ordering site, which has already resulted in higher order volume as well as a higher average ticket. To add to consumer ease, Torchy’s is also piloting easier curbside pickup with “I’m Here” notifications that can be initiated from the order confirmation.

“Torchy’s is already an iconic brand and is now quickly positioning itself as a digital leader by reimagining how mobile can transform the restaurant experience,” notes Jon Squire, CEO of CardFree. “We worked with Scott when he was leading marketing efforts at Dunkin’ and he is now bringing the same level of innovation and change to Torchy’s. The Torchy’s team is taking a consumer-centric approach and thinking about how to make a very experiential brand even richer. With our Order@Table feature, diners can add drink orders to the table without having to get back in line, which will add to both customer satisfaction and ticket size. With Text-to-Pay, consumers that call in orders no longer have to give credit card info over the phone or at pickup. We were already in discussions about all of these initiatives pre-COVID; it just makes even more sense now.”

Other contactless features will be added to Torchy’s suite of services over the next few months, such as Order@Table for dine-in customers who want to add drinks or food to their tables after receiving their initial order. With CardFree’s Text-to-Pay solution, customers that phone-in orders will also have the ability to pay via mobile, eliminating the need to give credit card information over the phone. Text-to-Pay enables restaurants to send text links to consumers to initiate and complete payment in seconds.

“We’ve chosen to partner with a mobile platform like CardFree because they have the most comprehensive contact-free solutions in the market for both on and off-premise. We have multiple ways that our guests can access Torchys — dine-in, mobile, online ordering as well as phone orders – and CardFree has a contactless solution for each consumer use case so we can meet the needs of our guests,” says Scott Hudler, Chief Marketing Officer for Torchy’s. “It’s ideal to have one partner to work with across the board for all order and pay needs from both a cost and ease of operation standpoint. We couldn’t be more pleased to launch this across all of our restaurants nationwide.”

CardFree’s contactless services include Pay@Table, which enables dine-in customers to pay their bills without waiting for the check, Order@Table, which enables ordering via mobile and Text-to-Pay, which can be used for both phone-orders and drive-thru mobile payments. These services have seen triple digit growth on a monthly basis in 2020.

Through these comprehensive services, CardFree is setting up restaurants for success in both the current climate of hypersensitivity for heightened health & safety protocols, and also the long game by creating a more efficient and seamless dining experience for consumers as well as a better bottom-line for restaurant operators. Restaurants using Cardfree have seen an overall increase in customer confidence based on their contactless dining experience, with approximately 70% of all customers at CardFree restaurants returning for second visits.

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About CardFree

CardFree provides the only integrated solution to mobilize and enhance the customer experience for maximum ROI. Our award-winning platform provides end-to-end services to engage consumers with offers, loyalty, order ahead and payments. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company has been recognized

as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless, as having the Best Mobile Merchant Platform by Frost & Sullivan and as Best Mobile Start-up by the MEA Awards. For more information, please visit www.cardfree.com or contact info@cardfree.com.

About Torchy’s Tacos

The Torchy’s Tacos story began over a decade ago in Austin, Texas, when a man with a dream bought a food trailer and a vibrant red Vespa. Mike Rypka, founder of Torchy’s Tacos, built a menu out of experimental tacos that were coined by fans as “damn good.” Today, Torchy’s Tacos has more than 80 locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Kansas that are committed to serving only the highest quality ingredients. By living the Damn Good mantra, Torchy’s Tacos is always innovating to deliver the most unique tacos, coveted queso and refreshing margaritas in the taco game, including the Taco of the Month, an untraditional taco offering that keeps taco junkies coming back for more. Visit http://www.torchystacos.com/and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more information on Torchy’s Tacos.

For PR/media inquiries, please contact:

Daphne Barahona

Modern Currency PR

daphne@moderncurrencypr.com

210-387-9472

January 11, 2020

Cardfree Announces Sen Wen as Chief Technology Officer

CARDFREE AND TORCHY’S TACOS EMBRACE NEW CONTACTLESS ORDERING & SERVICES IN A NEW PARTNERSHIP ACROSS ALL TORCHY’S TACOS LOCATIONS

In partnership with CardFree, Torchy’s Is Deploying A Full Suite Of Contact-Free Services Both On And Off-Premise To Enhance The Consumer Experience.

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About CardFree

About Torchy’s Tacos

For PR/media inquiries, please contact:

Daphne Barahona

Modern Currency PR

daphne@moderncurrencypr.com

210-387-9472

February 25,2020

VEN-U by LRS and CardFree Announce Collaboration on Location Services and Mobile Ordering for Restaurants and Hospitality

May 16, 2019

RICHARDSON, Texas – May 16, 2019– LRS, (Long Range Systems) a global leader in location services and guest engagement, announced today that it has partnered with CardFree, a leading mobile commerce platform, to offer customers additional solutions for efficiency, and revenue growth with mobile ordering and mobile kiosks.

CardFree and LRS’ joint solution provides restaurants with a new, kiosk-free solution to line busting at peak times. Restaurants can now enable consumers to order at the table and skip lines all together using their own smartphone device. The joint solution includes options for location services and ordering as well as loyalty and in-app payments, including support for credit cards, digital wallet, and gift cards. LRS will provide location and waitlist services within the app and will be offered through VEN-U. The offering is also available via SDK (Software Development Kit).

VEN-U by LRS is a new solutions-based platform that broadens available technologies to serve both the front and back-of-the-house operations for restaurants and hospitality concepts. “We’re excited about this opportunity with CardFree because it opens the door to providing customers new ways to engage guests inside and outside of their locations”, said John Weber, President and CEO of LRS.

CardFree has a proven track record for developing and deploying scalable mobile commerce solutions and they currently are the number one order-ahead provider by volume in the U.S.

“CardFree is an excellent vendor for us to work with given their experience in mobile technology and with our patented-guest engagement platform, we offer the industry a whole new way to optimize operations while enhancing their brand,” Weber added. “Our mobile kiosk app will combine our precise location technology while enhancing the guest experience whether they are curbside for pickup or entering the venue to dine. The development of the mobile kiosk app and its combined technologies is the first of its kind to launch in the QSR industry.”

Extending the Brand, Order-ahead and Increasing Revenues

The use of mobile ordering has proven to increase ticket size by 20-30%. VEN-U’s technology for accurate location services enables those orders to be seamlessly delivered inside or outside the venue along with enabling up-sell, loyalty, and customer feedback. “Mobile ordering has changed consumer expectations about not wasting time standing in lines,” explained Jon Squire CEO and founder of CardFree. “It is a natural extension of our platform to expand remote ordering into on-premise ordering and payment. Working with LRS, a clear leader in engagement and location services, allows this joint solution to finally solve for the frustration of walking into your favorite restaurant and seeing the line is already 15 people deep.”

Learn more about VEN-U’s mobile kiosk solution and other operations management system solutions, which increase efficiencies for most any business that manages guests, staff and physical locations.

About VEN-U by LRS

VEN-U by LRS enables any business to engage, manage, and monitor guests, staff, and sites. Combined with in-depth data reporting, VEN-U provides real-time insights and analysis for businesses to enhance guest engagement and maximize operational efficiency.

The VEN-U platform offers engagement, operational management, and remote monitoring of sites. Our solution locates and gathers guest, staff, and sensor data to optimize operations for smarter venue management or what we call an Operations Management System (OMS).

The LRS team is committed to building VEN-U technologies that empower businesses to manage their operations while improving the entire guest experience. VEN-U provides solutions via wireless communication systems, remote sensors, Bluetooth, beacons, and mobile applications. Our patented technologies are in over 80,000 businesses and 50 countries around the world.

From paging systems to comprehensive venue management, find out how we can help your business thrive because Smart Venues Start Here ™ https://VEN-U.io or contact info@lrsus.com

About CARDFREE

From the team that deployed the three largest mobile wallet initiatives in the U.S., CardFree offers merchants a one-stop solution to mobilize and enhance the customer experience for maximum ROI. Our award-winning platform provides end-to end services to engage consumers such as mGifts, offers, loyalty, order ahead and payments.

CardFree is headquartered in San Francisco and has been recognized as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless, as having the Best Mobile Merchant Platform by Frost & Sullivan and as Best Mobile Start-up by the MEA Awards. For more information please visit www.cardfree.com or contact info@cardfree.com.

May 16,2019

CardFree Launches Order-Ahead Service

CARDFREE Launches Order-Ahead Service via SDK

November 27, 2018

Largest order-ahead provider opens up API for developers and existing apps

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov.28, 2018– CARDFREE, the leading mobile wallet platform for large merchants, announced todaythat it has opened up its order-ahead API for merchants, agencies and partners to develop via the CARDFREE mobile SDK.As a complement to the order-ahead service, the SDK also enables in-app payments including support for credit cards and digital wallet platforms.

CARDFREE has become the largest order-ahead provider by volume to QSRs. The platform has enabled more than $600,000,000 in transactions and accommodates close to 200,000 calls per minute during peak traffic. The company’s order-ahead service was designed to handle heavy volume, complex menu structures and capture rich SKU level data. This service is now available via SDK to any restaurant, convenience store or grocery store and can be integrated into any existing app or other channels. The order-ahead service is available as a hosted solution or as a perpetual license for merchants interested in maintaining an in-house solution.

“Order-ahead has become a must-have solution as consumers now expect the benefit of ordering and paying in advance to skip lines,” explained Jon Squire CEO and founder of CARDFREE. “We’ve seen demand not only from restaurants but also from grocery and convenience brands volume and to increase prepared food volumeand deli sales. And unlike other order-ahead providers, with CARDFREE, merchant data is just that, the merchant’s to own and mine. Some merchants who jumped into this space early were eager to satisfy consumer demand and, frankly, got taken advantage of relative to who owns the data long term, as well as tokenized card information tied to accounts. CARDFREE has always worked to empower our merchant partners giving them 100 percent access and ownership of their customer data.”

About CARDFREE

CARDFREE is headquartered in San Francisco and has been recognized as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless, as having the Best Mobile Merchant Platform by Frost & Sullivan and as Best Mobile Start-up by the MEA Awards. For more information please visit www.cardfree.com or contact info@cardfree.com.

Media Contacts for CARDFREE:
Anna Stanley/Catherine Laws
anna@williammills.com/catherine@williammills.com/press@cardfree.com
251.517.7857/678.781.7206

November 27, 2018

CardFreeLaunches Pay at Table Service

CARDFREE Launches Pay at Table Service via Consumer Mobile Device New product enables restaurants to deploy pay at table without any new hardware investment

October 30, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO, October 30, 2018 – CARDFREE, the leading mobile wallet provider to large merchants, announced today at Groceryshop that it has launched the easiest to deploy pay at table service in market today. CARDFREE’s new service does not require investment in new hardware and has already been pre-integrated with 90 percent of restaurant POS systems. Consumers simply use their mobile devices to launch the restaurant app or mobile web page where they can view and pay their checks. Average deployment times range between two to four weeks.

Since launching in 2012, CARDFREE has become the leading mobile wallet platform to QSRs and has expanded into casual dining as well as other high-volume merchant segments such as fuel and convenience. CARDFREE services have evolved to accommodate growing restaurant needs including order-ahead, catering, delivery, mobile wait lists and now pay at table.

“There is a gap in the market for an easy, national, pay at table solution,” commented Jon Squire CEO and founder of CARDFREE. “Current solutions tend to be regional, require an investment in new hardware, and have lengthy deployment times for POS integrations. Other options are tied to the reservation and only allow the person that made the reservation to pay. Restaurants have been asking us for a better option and today that option has arrived.”

CARDFREE is offering their pay at table service to restaurants of any size as well as to channel partners who want to integrate to the API or offer it as a white label service. Restaurants do not need a mobile application or specific hardware to launch this service but it can be used in conjunction with existing hardware. CARDFREE pay at table can be integrated into existing apps or offered as a stand-alone service. This service can also be integrated with full mobile wallet services, including order ahead, offers and loyalty. CARDFREE’s patent portfolio includes patented processes for enabling all services in one tap, click or scan.

About CARDFREE

Media Contacts for CARDFREE:

Anna Stanley/Catherine Laws

anna@williammills.com/catherine@williammills.com/press@cardfree.com

251.517.7857/678.781.7206

October 30, 2018

Dunkin’ Announces Extended Relationship with CardFree

Dunkin’ Brands Announces Deal to Extend Relationship with CardFree to Accelerate Digital Technology

July 26, 2018

Dunkin’ Brands will receive a perpetual license to the technology enabling its Dunkin’ Donuts mobile order and payment application

CANTON, Mass. (July 26, 2018) – Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN), the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts (DD) and Baskin-Robbins (BR), today announced a multi-year deal with CardFree, Inc., a leading mobile wallet provider to large merchants, to secure a perpetual license to the software used to build and operate the mobile ordering and payment platform for Dunkin’ Donuts U.S. With this deal, Dunkin’ Brands assumes greater control over the operation of the technology enabling its mobile payments and On-the-Go Mobile Ordering through the Dunkin’ Mobile® App. The broad rights received by Dunkin’ Brands will also support the development of the Company’s future digital initiatives, including catering, delivery and curbside pick-up.

Dunkin’ Brands has worked with CardFree’s leadership for several years beginning with the deployment of the Dunkin’ Mobile App in 2012. The payment and gifting app was designed and optimized specifically for Dunkin’ Donuts’ on-the-go customer. As of the second quarter of 2018, with more than 18 million app downloads and nearly 9 million members in the DD Perks® Rewards Program, the Dunkin’ Mobile App is one of the most successful and highest-rated merchant applications in the quick service industry.

“Enabling guests to order and pay remotely is the leading global consumer trend occurring in the retail industry today,” said Jack Clare, Chief Information and Strategy Officer, Dunkin’ Brands. “Extending our successful relationship with CardFree and receiving a perpetual license to the code that supports our digital initiatives, including our gift card and DD Perks Loyalty programs, mobile ordering, delivery, and catering, will ensure that we have the best technology backbone in place and will allow us to accelerate our digital efforts.”

Dunkin’ Donuts has invested in new technologies and digital innovations in recent years to offer guests greater speed and convenience for ordering their favorite menu items with CardFree’s technology allowing easy access to other platforms and partners. With On-the-Go Mobile Ordering, introduced in 2016, members of the DD Perks® Rewards Program can order ahead and speed pass the line in-store. DD Perks members can place a mobile order up to 24 hours in advance, select their desired location, and then simply confirm via the Dunkin’ Donuts Mobile App when they are ready to pick up their order inside the restaurant, or at the drive-thru. Dunkin’ Donuts has also partnered with other companies to integrate its On-the-Go Mobile Ordering platform through Waze’s “Order Ahead” feature, the Google Assistant app and with General Motors Co. through Marketplace for eligible U.S. Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. Dunkin’ Donuts continues to explore additional opportunities with other voice-activated assistants.
Dunkin’ Donuts continues to build its role in mobile payments by enabling customers to pay via integrations with Masterpass by Mastercard, Visa Pay, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. These digital payment options allow guests to quickly and easily purchase and reload virtual Dunkin’ Donuts cards on DunkinDonuts.com and the Dunkin’ Mobile App.

The DD Perks® Rewards Program was launched in January 2014 as a fast and convenient way to reward guests nationwide with points toward free Dunkin’ Donuts beverages for every visit they make. Guests earn five points for every dollar they spend on qualifying purchases at Dunkin’ Donuts when they pay using an enrolled DD Card. Once a member accrues 200 points, he or she receives a coupon for a free beverage of their choice, redeemable at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants. DD Perks members also receive a coupon for a free beverage of any size upon enrollment and on their birthday. The DD Perks Rewards Program remains one of the fastest growing loyalty programs in the quick service restaurant industry.

About Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc.

With more than 20,600 points of distribution in more than 60 countries worldwide, Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) is one of the world’s leading franchisors of quick service restaurants (QSR) serving hot and cold coffee and baked goods, as well as hard-serve ice cream. At the end of the second quarter 2018, Dunkin’ Brands’ 100 percent franchised business model included more than 12,600 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants and more than 8,000 Baskin-Robbins restaurants. Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc. is headquartered in Canton, Mass.

July 26, 2018

CardFree Awarded Patent for Digital Wallet Integration

CARDFREE Awarded Patent for Digital Wallet Integration of Offers, Loyalty and Payments in One Transaction

June 21, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO, June 21, 2018 – CARDFREE, the leading mobile wallet provider to large merchants, announced today that it has been awarded a patent (U.S. Patent No.10,002,366) that covers the ideal mobile wallet use case of enabling the consumer to transact with everything in his or her wallet – offers, payment and loyalty points – in a single action. CARDFREE’s platform has effectively integrated essential services such as offers, order-ahead, payments and loyalty, alleviating the current consumer pain point of having to present multiple items at the point of sale (“POS”) to complete the transaction.

“If you look at today’s large merchants, they’re still struggling with consumers having to present coupons, a loyalty card and payment type separately at the POS,” said Jon Squire, founder and CEO of CARDFREE. “That’s not only a terrible customer experience, it can also slow lines at merchants, which translates into lost revenue during peak hours. Our patent allows for one scan at the POS or one check-in ‘in the cloud’ to fire off all relevant items for the consumer. This is one of the key differentiators of having an integrated platform where all services work together seamlessly.”

The patent also covers CARDFREE’s proprietary stored value product that enables standard and non-standard currencies including cryptocurrency, product SKUs and conditional values allowing for maximum flexibility. For example, the platform could be used to create a multi-merchant loyalty program where values can be exchanged and redeemed at different merchants for various monetary value, product or loyalty points. This newly awarded patent adds to CARDFREE’s existing portfolio including patents linking reservations to mobile payments.

CARDFREE offers all of its services via a Universal API that enables deployment through any channel or interface including mobile, web, in-store (kiosk, tablet, digital menu etc.), in-car and voice assistants.

About CARDFREE

From the team that deployed the three largest mobile wallet initiatives in the U.S., CARDFREE offers merchants a one-stop solution to mobilize and enhance the customer experience for maximum ROI. Our award-winning platform provides end-to end capabilities to engage customers via merchant-branded interfaces such as mobile gifting, messaging, offers, loyalty, payments, order ahead and social media integration. CARDFREE is headquartered in San Francisco and has been recognized as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless, as having the Best Mobile Merchant Platform by Frost & Sullivan and as Best Mobile Start-up by the MEA Awards.

For more information please visit www.cardfree.com or contact info@cardfree.com.

October 30, 2018

CardFree Universal API Solution Solves for Omni-Channel

CARDFREE Universal API Solution Solves for Omni-Channel

December 20, 2017

Processing over $550 million in transactions ensuring enterprise hardened solution

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 20, 2017 – CARDFREE, the leading mobile wallet provider to large merchants, today announced its Universal API is now available, with proven scale, to handle enterprise level deployments. CARDFREE’s API powers a single point of integration that cuts across all relevant digital channels including mobile, online, in-store (kiosk, tablet, POS, digital menu boards, etc.), in-dash, wallet providers and 3rd party partnerships (mapping & navigation services, delivery, etc.). By leveraging the Universal API, partners are able to extend reach into new verticals with increased efficiency and decreased time to market.

The Universal API opens the door to services that complete not only digital wallet solutions, but also digital commerce, including; Order Ahead, Loyalty, Payment & CRM/Offers. CARDFREE has become the leading mobile wallet platform, processing more than $550 million in transaction value. “Since inception CARDFREE has embraced that digital wallet and commerce initiatives cannot be limited to the physical device that is the flavor of the day,” commented Jon Squire, CEO and Founder. ”Our platform was specifically built to ensure flexibility and expansion into any, and all, relevant channels.”

In conjunction with the Universal API, CARDFREE offers a mobile SDK to agencies, partners and merchants that are interested in using CARDFREE platform services while driving their own front-end mobile development. Unlike mobile wallet providers that simply provide a “container” and no backend services, CARDFREE has integrated services that can be used together or à la carte.

About CARDFREE
From the team that deployed the three largest mobile wallet initiatives in the U.S., CARDFREE offers merchants a one-stop solution to mobilize and enhance the customer experience for maximum ROI. Our award-winning platform provides end-to end capabilities to engage customers via merchant-branded interfaces such as mGifts, messaging, offers, loyalty, payments, order ahead and social media integration. CARDFREE is headquartered in San Francisco and has been recognized as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless, as having the Best Mobile Merchant Platform by Frost & Sullivan and as Best Mobile Start-up by the MEA Awards. For more information please visit www.cardfree.com or contact info@cardfree.com.

From the team that deployed the three largest mobile wallet initiatives in the U.S., CARDFREE offers merchants a one-stop solution to mobilize and enhance the customer experience for maximum ROI. Our award-winning platform provides end-to end capabilities to engage customers via merchant-branded interfaces such as mGifts, messaging, offers, loyalty, payments, order ahead and social media integration. CARDFREE is headquartered in San Francisco and has been recognized as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless, as having the Best Mobile Merchant Platform by Frost & Sullivan and as Best Mobile Start-up by the MEA Awards. For more information please visit www.cardfree.com or contact info@cardfree.com.

Media Contacts for CARDFREE
Diane Hong/Catherine Laws
+1 415.735.6310/+1 678.781.7206
press@cardfree.com/catherine@williammills.com

December 20, 2017

Hatch Loyalty and CardFree Partner

Hatch Loyalty and CARDFREE Partner to Deliver Combined Customer Engagement and Mobile Wallet Solution to Convenience Industry

November 13, 2017

Summary: Hatch Loyalty and CARDFREE’s integrated solution will streamline the customer experience and provide convenience retailers with rich customer data.

SAN FRANCISCO and CHICAGO, Nov. 13, 2017 – Today, customer engagement and loyalty platform, Hatch Loyalty, announced a new partnership with mobile commerce leader, CARDFREE, combining capabilities to bring personalized engagement and mobile wallet services to large retailers. Powering some of the highest volume mobile ordering applications in market today, CARDFREE’s partnership with Hatch Loyalty will provide gas stations and convenience stores best in class order-ahead, stored-value, engagement and loyalty services.

Retailers have long known that it is cheaper to retain customers than to acquire new customers, but new research also suggests that customers engaged in mobile visit twice as often as non-mobile customers.
Hatch’s approach to customer engagement and loyalty is rooted in the belief that loyalty is more than just a discount; it is an outcome of a great customer experience. Hatch uses customer data to help retail partners drive conversion and diversify sales by delivering more personalized offers and recommendations. Finding new paths of engagement, including mobile activation and payments, is key to reaching that goal. Historically, mobile consumers have a higher lifetime value than other consumers and adding loyalty increases both frequency and spend.

“Loyalty is an outcome of a great customer experience, which includes new ways of engaging customers via mobile,” said Dan Gloede, CEO of Hatch Loyalty. “We believe customers that order-ahead and leverage mobile payments technology ultimately help drive value for retailers. Jon [Squire] and the CARDFREE team recognize this, and have built an industry-leading mobile wallet platform. We believe our partnership will allow both of us to extend solutions that retailers need, and consumers love.”

CARDFREE’s end-to-end enterprise mobile wallet platform allows retailers and QSRs to engage consumers and helps merchants increase frequency and spend. The CARDFREE platform offers a one-stop solution for merchant-branded mobile wallets including services such as stored value, offers, order-ahead and rich data/analytics. Adding Hatch Loyalty services to the platform will further enable personalized offers, real-time engagement and self-service tools.

“Merchants that use our full platform services including order-ahead, payments, offers and loyalty tend to see the most shift in behavior,” commented Jon Squire, CEO and founder of CARDFREE. “We believe Hatch’s experience and focus on gas and convenience will be tremendously beneficial to a combined solution. As we looked expand our reach outside QSRs, they were an obvious partner because of their platform approach, and unique capabilities to drive personalization of the customer experience.”

Order-ahead is no longer a nice-to-have for retailers serious about driving merchandising sales, driving nearly 2 billion transactions per year. With strong demographic leanings towards millennials, these capabilities, along with payments, represent a major opportunity for retailers looking to engage with the mobile-motivated consumer. CARDFREE and Hatch believe personalized customer engagement will further drive this engagement.

The net result for retailers? A unique pairing of personalized customer engagement programs that drive engagement to mobile for best-in-class wallet capabilities.

About CARDFREE
From the team that deployed the three largest mobile wallet initiatives in the U.S., CARDFREE® offers merchants a one-stop solution to mobilize and enhance the customer experience for maximum ROI. CARDFREE® offers complete, integrated solutions for merchants from mobile and online through to the POS. Our award-winning platform provides end-to-end capabilities such as mGifts, messaging, smart offers, loyalty, payments, order ahead and social media integration. CARDFREE® is headquartered in San Francisco and has been recognized as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless. For more information, visit www.cardfree.com or contact press@cardfree.com.

About Hatch Loyalty

Hatch is a simple, adaptable platform designed to help retailers and brands build stronger relationships with their customers. More than a loyalty company, Hatch makes insights actionable, enabling a more personalized and meaningful customer experience for retailers of all sizes. The world’s largest retailers and brands have access to the Hatch platform’s full configurability, while small- to medium-sized businesses can access Hatch’s off-the-shelf marketing solution, Belly, which is already an industry-leading solution. Hatch Loyalty is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and received funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Lightbank, NEA, and DAG Ventures. For more information, visit www.hatchloyalty.com.

Media Contact for CARDFREE

Diane Hong

+1 415.735.6310

press@cardfree.com

Media Contact for Hatch Loyalty

Natasha Janic

+1 773.328.8284

natasha@hatchloyalty.com

November 13, 2017

CardFree Research: Mobile Wallet Apps Increase Frequency

CARDFREE® Research Shows Mobile Wallet Apps Increase Frequency by 2x

March 15, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO, March XX, 2017 – CARDFREE, the leading mobile wallet provider to large merchants, announced today that research across its platform shows that mobile consumers increase their visit frequency, ultimately doubling visits before stabilizing out to the new norm. In examining visit patters across users, CARDFREE research found that time between visits would decrease with each successive app use until about the 6th visit where users would normalize. On average, consumers who started out at a frequency of twice a month would increase visits to weekly and continue to maintain the new frequency level.

Since launching in 2012, CARDFREE has become the leading mobile wallet platform to QSRs, reaching over 22,000 merchant locations with access to over 100 million consumers each week. The company has also expanded into casual dining as well as other high volume merchant segments and has seen over 50 millions transactions across its platform.

“Historically, we’ve seen that mobile consumers have a higher lifetime value than other consumers so the results of our platform research aren’t a surprise,” commented Jon Squire CEO and founder of CARDFREE. “What is a surprise is the level of increased frequency, which is very significant. In addition to finding that mobile is a driver of frequency, we’ve also found that adding a loyalty program tends to increase both frequency and spend. Merchants that use our full platform services including order-ahead, payments, offers and loyalty tend to see the most shift in behavior.”

CARDFREE is now offering its mobile SDK to agencies, partners and merchants that are interested in using CARDFREE platform services while driving their own front-end mobile development. Unlike mobile wallet providers that simply provide a “container” and no backend services, CARDFREE has integrated services that can be used together or a la carte.

About CARDFREE®

March 15, 2017

CardFree 2016 Red Herring Top 100 North America Winner

CARDFREE® Selected as a 2016 Red Herring Top 100 North America Winner

July 14, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO, June 14, 2016 – CARDFREE®, the leading mobile walletprovider to large merchants, announced today it was selected by Red Herring as one of its Top 100 North America award winners . Red Herring selects the award winners from approximately 1,200 privately financed companies each year in the US and Canada. CARDFREE® was selected for powering some of the most successful merchant mobile applications including Dunkin’ Donuts, which launched On-the-Go mobile ordering nationwide this week.
Since launching in 2012, CARDFREE® has become the leading mobile walletplatform to QSRs, reaching over 22,000 merchant locations with access to over 90 million consumers each week. It has also expanded into casual dining and other high volume industries including grocery, convenience and gas.

“We are extremely lucky to have launched the right technology with a best-in-class team at the right time,” commented Jon Squire CEO and founder of CARDFREE®. “From the outset, we knew that there was a gap in the marketplace for an integrated mobile walletsolution for large merchants and that merchants would be the key drivers of mobile adoption. What we didn’t know is how ready and willing merchants were to using mobile as a way to disrupt traditional services, such as Point of Sale systems, CRM, loyalty, and payments, that were not evolving with their needs. We’re honored that Red Herring has recognized these industry shifts and CARDFREE®’s end-to-end solution for this new ecosystem.”

“In 2016, selecting the top achievers was extremely difficult,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “The variety, depth, disruption and traction we saw from the early stage companies to those with significant scale made it one of the toughest vintages to judge. The North America winners are representative of the amazing ecosystem that never ceases to astound, with new and experienced entrepreneurs continuing to push the barriers of innovation. As one of the winners, CARDFREE® should be proud of its accomplishment under such strong competition.”
Red Herring’s editorial staff evaluated companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technological innovation and intellectual property, DNA of the founders, business model, customer footprint and market penetration. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, and YouTube.

July 14, 2016

CardFree Wins Best Mobile Startup

CARDFREE® Wins Best Mobile Startup in the Mobile Excellence Awards

February 2, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO, February 2, 2016 – CARDFREE®, the leading mobile walletprovider to large merchants, announced that it has been selected as 2015’s Best Mobile Startup at the 8th Annual Mobile Excellence Awards (MEA). The MEA is a coveted award program, which recognizes and honors the companies that have truly set the bar of excellence in their respective fields.
Founded in 2012, CARDFREE has become the mobile walletleader with top QSR customers such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Taco Bell, expanding into Casual, Convenience and Grocery in 2016. CARDFREE®’s integrated walletplatform enables data-driven offers, order-ahead, payments, gifting and loyalty via mobile and online.

“The mobile start-up space is extremely crowded, but CARDFREE® stood out with its momentum and ability to accelerate the nascent mobile walletmarket,” commented Allison Dollar, CEO of the ITV Alliance and a board member for the Mobile Excellence Awards. “CARDFREE® embraced that the mobile wallet space is about more than payments, powering some of the most successful mobile walletapps in the market and positioning itself to dominate the merchant wallets.”

“We’re honored to be recognized by the MEA and so pleased that our vision of integrated merchant apps that enable consumers to order, pay and skip lines is becoming a mainstream reality,” commented Diane Hong, CARDFREE®’s CMO. “2015 was a strong year for us with QSRs and Casual Dining. In 2016 we’ll go even further in fundamentally changing the merchant experience for the mobile customer in all verticals.”
The 8th Annual Mobile Excellence Awards are produced by Axis PR & Entertainment and sponsored in part by globally recognized companies such as Intel, YouTube, Fathom Events and others. More information can also be found at www.mobilexawards.com .

About CARDFREE®
From the team that deployed the three largest mobile walletinitiatives in the U.S., CARDFREE® offers merchants a one-stop solution to mobilize and enhance the customer experience for maximum ROI. CARDFREE® offers complete, integrated solutions for merchants from mobile and online through to the POS. Our award-winning platform provides end-to-end capabilities such as mGifts, messaging, smart offers, loyalty, payments, order ahead and social media integration. CARDFREE® is headquartered in San Francisco and has been recognized as a “Fierce 15” company by Fierce Wireless. Customers include Dunkin’ Donuts, Taco Bell, Sonic Drive-In and Checkers/Rally’s. For more information, visit www.cardfree.com or contact press@cardfree.com.

About the Mobile Excellence Awards
The Mobile Excellence Award organization is one of the most coveted and prestigious events in the mobile industry. Coined as the “Oscars” of Mobile, the MEA organization recognizes and honors leaders and innovation in mobile entertainment and technology across the globe. The MEAs produce various high level and high profile events for visionaries and leaders by offering knowledge exchange, peer networking, market intelligence and recognition through various programs throughout the year. In addition, MEAs’ holds the most prestigious annual awards event in the industry, honoring excellence in all segments of the mobile ecosystem. For more information, please visit www.mobilexawards.com.

More information can be found at www.mobilexawards.com.

February 2, 2016

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