Corporate Benefits App Swile Notches $78.7M In Series C Funding

Swile notched $78.7 million in an Index Ventures-led Series C funding round held a few months prior, which it will use to help oversee corporate benefits and bolster team building.

Index Ventures led the funding round, after also heading up the startup’s Series B round. Other investors include Idinvest and Bpifrance.

Swile, previously known as Lunchr, got its start with lunch payment cards, according to reports. Firms in France are required to put money toward their workers’ lunches if they fall at the heart of the workday. Certain companies provide meal vouchers, while other firms have a dining facility that offers inexpensive food.

As PYMNTS reported in 2019, Swile claimed that 30 nations harnessed meal voucher systems for workers, most of which were paper-based. At the time, it was noted that companies used a system of tangible vouchers to handle the cost of meals for workers. Those vouchers are sent mostly through books of coupons that workers tear off and utilize. Swile aims to change that.

The startup also plans to include gift cards in the future, which is another type of benefit offered by many French firms. On an annual basis, worker representatives have a budget to support their peers using a variety of methods, such as providing gift cards prior to the holidays.

The company reportedly wants to make its card a one-stop payment service by allowing workers to spend their gift card budgets using their Swile cards. In time, the company could provide additional ways to handle benefits, like helping firms pay for a portion of recurring mass transit payments.

Swile plans to expand to Brazil beginning in 2020 and will add more European countries next year. Currently, there are 210,000 individuals from 8,000 firms harnessing Swile.