Sunday, December 21, 2025
Voyado has announced the acquisition of WasHere, a fast-growing Swedish technology company specializing in digital membership cards for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. This strategic move strengthens Voyado’s omnichannel customer experience and loyalty capabilities, particularly for retailers seeking deeper customer identification and engagement across physical and digital touchpoints.
Founded in 2023, WasHere has rapidly gained traction across the Nordic retail market. The platform is already trusted by well-known brands such as XXL, Gant, ZOO.se, Gina Tricot, and Granit. The company was established by Oliver Alkesten, Carl Nordling, Jacob Klerfelt, and Niclas Blomqvist, who collectively built a solution designed to address one of retail’s most persistent challenges: identifying customers seamlessly during in-store interactions.
WasHere’s digital membership card solution enables retailers to improve customer recognition at checkout while making loyalty programs more visible and accessible. By allowing customers to store membership cards directly in their mobile wallets, retailers can display loyalty points, rewards, and offers in real time. Additionally, the platform introduces a push communication channel within Apple and Google Wallet, providing a powerful complement to traditional outreach methods such as email and SMS.
In today’s retail landscape, many businesses still identify fewer than one-third of their in-store shoppers. As a result, in-store customer identification remains one of the largest gaps in omnichannel customer experience strategies. Voyado views this challenge as a significant opportunity. As retailers increasingly adopt AI-driven personalization, access to accurate and comprehensive first-party data becomes essential for delivering relevant and consistent customer experiences.
“In-store identification has long been a challenge for many retailers. As customer experiences become increasingly AI-driven, access to high-quality first-party data becomes absolutely critical — it’s the foundation that enables personalisation. Wallet solutions make it possible to truly connect more customer journeys, strengthening both our broader product offering and our customers’ results,” said Erica Sandelin Ekelund, CEO of Voyado.
Following the acquisition, WasHere will be integrated directly into Voyado’s product portfolio. Together, the two companies aim to help retailers identify a larger share of their customers, improve data quality, and maximize the effectiveness of their omnichannel strategies. Notably, the new functionality will be made available to Voyado customers immediately, allowing retailers to benefit without delay.
“Digital membership cards have quickly become a natural way for retailers to strengthen their loyalty programs, and demand continues to grow. Our solution is at its strongest when it’s closely integrated with a loyalty system. Together with Voyado, we can scale faster and continue developing the technology as the market matures. This is just the beginning,” said Niclas Blomqvist, CEO and co-founder of WasHere.
The acquisition also positions Voyado to capitalize on rapid developments within the payments and identity ecosystem. Payment providers are increasingly rolling out support for Apple and Google’s Value Added Services (VAS) protocols. These advancements are paving the way for future “tap-and-go” experiences, where payment and customer identification occur simultaneously. Voyado views this evolution as a natural next step for retail, enabling even smoother and more connected customer journeys.
From Voyado’s perspective, WasHere brings not only innovative technology but also a highly experienced team with deep domain expertise. The combination of strong product capabilities and market timing makes the acquisition particularly compelling as the retail technology landscape continues to evolve.
“What makes WasHere particularly interesting to us is the strength of the offering, the technology, and a team with deep expertise. This acquisition allows us to take a clear position in an area that’s evolving incredibly fast. The timing is exactly right, and we already see how this will unlock entirely new opportunities for our customers in the years ahead,” concluded Johan Bäckarlin, founder of Voyado.
Ultimately, the acquisition reinforces Voyado’s commitment to helping retailers deliver seamless, data-driven customer experiences. By strengthening loyalty visibility, improving customer identification, and enabling richer omnichannel engagement, Voyado is positioning itself to support retailers as they navigate the next phase of digital and in-store convergence.
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