While we were reading yesterday’s news that Bluetooth-connected payment card startup Stratos had been forced to shut down because a recent round of funding fell through, another plan for the company’s future was in the works.
This morning we learned Stratos signed an agreement to sell to Ciright One; terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Stratos co-founder Thiago Olson told TechCrunch that Stratos will continue to function as normal and plans to reinstate customer support in the next few weeks.
The Stratos card consolidates payment and membership cards into a single card with a rewrite-able magstripe. Users select one of three buttons on the card to transact with their top three cards, and access additional cards by activating a Bluetooth connection between the card and their smartphone. At FinovateSpring 2015, Stratos debuted a Digital Card Issuance platform that digitizes the card-fulfillment system by enabling users to download and use a virtual credit card within minutes of being approved.
Pennsylvania-based Ciright One is an active acquirer of Finovate alums. The company purchased GoNow Technologies (FinovateSpring 2013 demo) in September 2015 and last week launched The One, a smart card similar to the Stratos card.