Raise Announced as Payments Provider for the Polkadot Mobile App

Raise's payment infrastructure enables $DOT payments at over one million stores and websites

MIAMI, July 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Raise, a leading payments provider and innovator in the global gift card industry, today announced a partnership with Parity Technologies to provide the payment rails for the upcoming Polkadot mobile application. Previewed during last week's Polkadot Decoded conference, Raise's white-label payments and gift card infrastructure API will allow users to make purchases at over one million stores and websites across the United States using Polkadot's native token, $DOT, and earn up to 20% cash back in $DOT on all transactions.

Raise is the largest gift card marketplace in the United States, providing on-demand gift cards for users at over 1,000 retailers. Directly integrated into the Point of Sale systems for many of these top brands, the Raise platform provides a seamless consumer experience while providing cashback on all purchases. Through this partnership with Parity Technologies, Raise is bridging the gap between crypto and retail that has long eluded the industry.

George Bousis, Founder and CEO of Raise, commented on the news: "For far too long, crypto and traditional commerce have remained siloed. Raise published its first blockchain whitepaper in 2015 detailing a better way for customers to transact with businesses, but technological constraints prevented this evolution from happening. The Polkadot blockchain provides the technical backing needed to finally bring our vision to life. Together, we are making it easier and more rewarding for people to use their crypto for everyday transactions. We couldn't be more excited to partner with the Parity team and we look forward to showcasing how crypto can be seamlessly integrated with retail and e-commerce going forward."

The Polkadot app is scheduled for release in Q3 of this year, allowing users to make purchases at retailers across the US using $DOT without ever having to leave the app. The rewards issued in $DOT will function as cash-back rewards, providing instant savings to users on all their purchases. By the end of the year, Raise and Parity intend to expand these capabilities internationally, bringing crypto payments to over thirty-three countries and over 5,000 brands.

Björn Wagner, Co-founder and CEO of Parity Technologies, the core contributor to the Polkadot blockchain, commented: "Upon first meeting George and the Raise team in 2021, I was immediately impressed by their vision for unlocking crypto in retail through their gift card platform. We have been tirelessly working together since and I am proud of all we have achieved through this integration, allowing all $DOT holders in our ecosystem to utilize their assets in traditional commercial systems. This partnership with Raise opens up an entirely new audience to traditional e-commerce and this is only the beginning of what we have planned for the future."

As a leader in the gift card industry, Raise is dedicated to innovating and enhancing value transfer between consumers and businesses. Raise is also actively working to make its payments API available to all self-custodial Polkadot wallets in the near future. With ambitious plans to expand its footprint across the crypto industry, Raise is targeting additional blockchain integrations in the coming months, furthering the platform's reach and capabilities.

About Raise
Raise, a renowned pioneer in the gift card industry has been at the forefront of innovation since its inception in 2012. Over the years, the company has facilitated over $10 billion in transactions through its exchange (now GCX) and B2B operations. With over 1,000+ brand partnerships, Raise offers activation and real-time redemption capabilities across a network of over one million stores, websites and applications.

About Parity Technologies
Parity Technologies is a core blockchain infrastructure company. It is creating an open-source creative commons that will enable people to create better institutions through technology. This started with work building Ethereum. Today, Parity is focused on Substrate, an industry-standard blockchain framework. It has used it to build Polkadot, a decentralized web blockchain meta-protocol, securing and connecting crypto-economies to the world.

About Polkadot
Polkadot is the powerful, secure core of Web3 for boundary-defying developers. It enables Web3's biggest innovators to get their ideas to market fast, with flexible costs and token options. By making blockchain technology secure, composable, flexible, efficient, and cost-effective, Polkadot is powering the movement for a better web. For more information, visit polkadot.network.

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SOURCE Raise