The Munich-based IoT/fintech startup Thinxnet has secured Mastercard and a premium automotive manufacturer from southern Germany as strategic investors for its Ryd product. The financing round for the European rollout raised a double-digit million amount. The company also announced its collaboration with PayPal.
With Ryd (formerly TanktalerThinxnet offers a whole range of tools for your car. A small box that the customer plugs into the car automatically collects data on the car's location, battery status, mileage, and much more. This means that even older vehicles can be upgraded to connected cars, offering several advantages for the owner. The technology allows, among other things, securing the car against theft, making mobile payments at gas stations, keeping a digital logbook, calling a towing or breakdown service, and checking the car battery. To use these features, consumers must also install the Ryd app on their smartphone.
Ryd's international expansion
With the investments from Mastercard and the unnamed automaker, Thinxnet, which is already active in Austria and Switzerland in addition to Germany, aims to further internationalize its offering. The next step will be to bring Ryd to the Benelux countries, Spain, and Portugal. By 2024, the mobile payment function is expected to be available directly at the gas pump throughout the EU.
In addition to the money, the founders also receive valuable know-how from their new investors – especially for mobile payment at the gas station. Oliver Götz, Founder and Executive Chairman of ThinxNet says:
“The combination of a technology company in international payments and an automobile manufacturer creates the optimal conditions for strong growth for Ryd Pay.”
Cooperation with Paypal
Thinxnet also announced that it will integrate PayPal as another payment method into the Ryd app. Previously, users could only store Visa and Mastercard credit cards in the app. Johannes Martens, CEO of Ryd, explains:
“By integrating PayPal as a payment method, we are giving even more people access to quick payment at the gas station.”
