PouchNATION raises Bridge Funding Round and launches Contactless Hospitality Tech

PouchNATION, Asia’s leading Guest Management and Contactless Payment provider for venues and events, launched a Bridge Funding Round to accelerate the growth of the company’s Contactless Hospitality Platform. PouchNATION aims to provide engaging payment solutions as many tourist destinations are opening in SEA.

Participating investors included SOSV, Artesian, Found Ventures, Huashan Capital and other angel investors as well as existing investor Traveloka, one of SE Asia’s leading lifestyle tech unicorns.

Contactless technology with a hygiene focus

PouchNation’s new Contactless Hospitality Platform prioritizes hygiene standards and aims to provide a contactless solution for tourists at hostels, hotels, resorts and theme parks. Guests utilizing the contactless solution receive an NFC wristband that acts as guests’ digital identifier, door key as well as cashless wallet all in one. Users can purchase food and drinks and redeem breakfast vouchers without physical touch.

“We’ve always felt that faster adoption of technology can play a big role in providing a better experience for the hospitality industry. Indeed, the pandemic has accelerated that trend and currently many hospitality providers are embracing contactless technology to guarantee higher hygiene standards for their guests,” says Ricardo Santos, PouchNATION’s VP of Growth.

Increase in F&B spend as Adoption Driver

PouchNATION gained a number of high caliber clients through the new Contactless Hospitality Platform, including Collective Hospitality, Asia’s largest hostel company and fourth largest globally. The company includes brands such as Bodega, Slumber Party, Socialtel and Path being part of the group. Research on the topic indicates that PouchNATION’s system increases average spends by 30%. This is highly significant when Venues are still lacking the same room booking volumes as before the pandemic.

“One of the main drivers for the adoption of Contactless Payments systems using NFC wearable devices is the overall increase in F&B spend that the Venue will experience right from the start,” says Edmund Lowman, CEO of Collective Hospitality.

Future Plans

PouchNATION plans to further scale its Contactless Hospitality Plaform in 2022, since the SaaS business model proved highly efficient. Clients are already using the platform in SEA, LatinAmerica and other continents. The company is currently negotiating an additional funding round to expand its system beyond Asian borders and become a truly global company.