Wave Crest Raises $8.5 Million to Transform How Companies Use Prepaid to Fuel Business

LOS ANGELES and GIBRALTAR, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Wave Crest Holdings Limited, a global e-payments solutions provider, today announced that it has raised $8.5 million in Series B funding led by GRP Partners with Park Ventures LLC participating.  This financing is the first institutional round raised by Wave Crest. Brian McLoughlin, general partner at GRP Partners, and Larry Park also joined the board of Wave Crest.

Wave Crest was founded in 2008 by seasoned technology and pre-paid executives with the goal of fundamentally changing the payments paradigm by shifting the mindset of payments from being simply a "cost of doing business" to a sophisticated and multifaceted tool. Wave Crest combines payments with loyalty and promotional programs, enabling companies to acquire new customers, delight current ones and drive incremental revenue from existing business.  Through private label network branded payment instruments, Wave Crest transforms how companies receive and make payments while reducing the costs associated with payment processing.

The Wave Crest eMoney platform provides highly-configurable, integrated payment solutions that include applications for open and closed-loop prepaid cards and e-wallets, innovative loyalty and promotional programs, and the ability to execute programs globally across the Americas, Europe and Asia from a single platform. The Company will also provide sponsor bank services for the European market.

"Our investment in Wave Crest reflects our view that there is an enormous opportunity in the global prepaid market for true innovators," said Brian McLoughlin, partner at GRP Partners.  "Wave Crest's management team is an unmatched combination of influential industry visionaries and proven operating executives."

"Payments touch every part of a business. Companies are eager to expand their brands and trusted customer relationships by becoming more relevant to the everyday financial lives of their customers, while driving loyalty -- and prepaid is ideal for this.  We put payments to work in all of these areas so that companies have a competitive differentiator, one that delights prospects and customers by solving real problems," says Gary Palmer, President and Co-Founder of Wave Crest.  Gary has been leading payment innovations for more than a decade; he was co-founder of WildCard Systems in 1997, which was acquired by eFunds in 2005 for $262 million. After eFunds was acquired by Fidelity National Information Services, Gary served as FIS's Executive Vice President of Prepaid Business until April 2008.

"Wave Crest has already proven that businesses can add a whole new depth to relationships with their customers when they combine customer loyalty with branded payment products such as prepaid cards," said Larry Park, a board member and chairman of Wave Crest's Strategic Advisory Board. Larry Park is an Operating Executive with Genstar Capital and was also a co-founder of WildCard Systems. Prior to co-founding WildCard, Larry was CEO of Transglobal, a merchant credit card processor (acquired by Chase Paymentech, a joint venture between JP Morgan Chase and First Data).

"We're thrilled to have GRP Partners as our lead investor and Brian McLoughlin and Larry Park on our board," said B.D. Goel, the CEO and Co-Founder of Wave Crest.  "Brian is a leader among venture investors in payments, and this capital will allow us to accelerate our aggressive plans to bring sophisticated and tailored payment solutions to more companies in more industries." Prior to starting Wave Crest, B.D. served as the Chief Operating Officer of PartyGaming. B.D. spent more than 15 years in Silicon Valley, California.

About Wave Crest

Wave Crest is a global e-payments company that turns payments into a powerful tool to drive company growth.  We provide fresh thinking and customized payment solutions which our clients leverage to become more profitable, operate with greater competitive differentiation and address strategic business objectives.  Our one-stop global shop includes pre-paid card issuing, program management, acquiring and specialized processing.  Wave Crest is based in Gibraltar and has fully owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and Isle of Man.  For more information, visit http://www.wavecrest.gi.

About GRP Partners

GRP Partners is a venture capital firm focused on investing in financial technology, digital content and distribution, and online business consumer services.  Founded in 1996, the firm has invested approximately $1 billion on behalf of more than 150 limited partners in North America and Europe.  With professionals in Los Angeles and London, GRP Partners has a global perspective on serving its portfolio companies and seeking investment opportunities across all stages of investment.

SOURCE Wave Crest Holdings Limited