Ding founder and CEO Mark Roden. In a move that will transform the market for mobile top-up payments, Dublin tech firm Ding has acquired US player iSend.
Dublin-headquartered mobile top-up provider Ding has acquired the largest top-up network in the US, iSend, for an undisclosed sum.
The deal was partly funded by AIB Corporate Banking and doubles the size of Ding’s business globally.
In addition to Ding’s reach of 500,000 outlets globally, iSend brings in an additional 150,000 retail stores, mainly in North America.
Ding, founded by Mark Roden in 2006, employs more than 150 people in Dublin 4 and processes US$250m a year worth of payments.
Ding enables people – mostly in emerging markets – to send each other value in the form of phone credit across the world within three seconds.
Every day some 80,000 transactions are made, averaging at amounts of US$1m worth of payments.
Ding gets a 10pc commission on these transactions. The company is understood to have generated a profit of US$3m last year on revenues in excess of US$20m.
“This acquisition takes our international top-up to the next level by offering the widest array of mobile operators and the most reliable technical infrastructure. It is an exciting step for Ding and one which reflects our determination to lead this industry through scale and innovation.
“[iSend CEO] Steve LaBella has built a fantastic company in iSend and I am particularly pleased to be now working with him in growing the US, our largest sending region.”
