Dosh

Market position

At the time of its 2019 financing, Dosh's lead investor described it as the leading player in the card-linked offers market; the company had briefly ranked first among U.S. shopping apps during the holiday spending period. It competed with other consumer cash-back services such as Drop and Ebates in the U.S. and Quidco in the U.K., and was ultimately bought by Cardlytics, a larger bank-rewards advertising platform with an audience of more than 163 million monthly active users.

Dosh ties advertising spend to verified card transactions, giving brands attribution at the point of purchase rather than at impression or click, and returns value to consumers as cash rather than points or coupons. Cash back is credited automatically once a card is linked, with no in-app commerce — the company has said it has no plans to sell items directly, instead driving consumers into physical and online stores. Cash back can be withdrawn to a bank or PayPal account, spent, or donated.

Technology

The platform links consumers' payment cards to merchant offers so that rewards are triggered automatically by card transactions, allowing attribution down to the completed purchase rather than clicks or impressions. Dosh has invested in targeting technology that personalizes offers based on individual spending patterns, including varying cash-back levels by a user's prior visit frequency at a merchant, and in raising rewards to shift behavior toward merchants a consumer would be less likely to visit.

Go-to-market

Direct-to-consumer acquisition through the Dosh mobile app combined with distribution partnerships with banks, neo-banks and fintechs that embed Dosh's cash-back offers, alongside direct sales of merchant and brand advertising programs and relationships with card networks including Visa and Mastercard.

Two sides: consumers who link a payment card to earn cash back on everyday shopping, dining and hotel bookings; and advertisers — retailers, restaurant, travel and consumer brands — seeking measurable purchase-level marketing. Distribution partners include financial institutions, neo-banks and fintech companies.

Geography

Headquartered in Austin, Texas. Operations were U.S.-only as of January 2019, with management describing international expansion as likely in 2020. Dosh remained in Austin after the Cardlytics acquisition, while acquirer Cardlytics is headquartered in Atlanta with additional offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Visakhapatnam.

History

Dosh raised $44 million at a $241 million valuation in about April 2018, then announced a further $40 million in January 2019 — $20 million equity and $20 million venture debt — led by Goodwater Capital and Western Technology Investment with PayPal, BAM Capital and Anthem Venture Partners, at an approximate $300 million valuation, bringing total funding to $96 million. On March 1, 2021 Cardlytics announced an agreement to buy the company, and the $275 million cash-and-stock deal closed on March 9, 2021, becoming Cardlytics' first acquisition in its 13-year history.

Risks & controversies

Dosh's January 2019 financing included $20 million of venture debt alongside $20 million of equity, and its reported ~$300 million valuation came from sources close to the company rather than a stated figure from Dosh. The company operates in a crowded consumer cash-back market alongside players such as Drop, Ebates and Quidco, and it does not disclose the percentage it takes on transactions.