CIT GAP Funds Invests in SwipePay Mobile, Inc.

HERNDON, Va., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced today that CIT GAP Funds is investing in SwipePay Mobile, Inc., creators of a prepaid mobile phone application based in Alexandria, Va. CIT will invest $100,000.

Chris Wuhrer, SwipePay CEO, said, "We are excited about receiving the GAP Fund stamp of approval and attendant funding. The investment will help us finalize product development, add key resources, and aggressively pursue business development plans."

SwipePay facilitates the reloading of funds on prepaid mobile phones through a Java/Brew application, directly from the user's device. The application provides ease and convenience to subscribers, while maximizing profits and reducing purchase errors for prepaid mobile carriers. The service also allows for gift funding, where subscribers can reload usage time onto another prepaid account, as well as overdraft spending, where users have the opportunity to draw funds from a surplus account when they have exceeded their mobile spending limits.

CIT President and CEO Pete Jobse said, "The GAP Fund Investment Advisory Board was extremely impressed with the SwipePay management. Moreover, we also liked their value proposition to help their clients reduce costs and errors associated with prepaid reload while maximizing data revenue, which is not currently taking place in the marketplace."

CIT GAP Funds is a family of venture funds designed to bridge the gap between "family and friends" funding and early-stage equity investments for Virginia-based technology and life science companies. CIT GAP Funds invests in seed-stage firms with a high potential for successful commercialization, rapid growth and downstream private equity financing.

"SwipePay is CIT GAP Funds' twenty-sixth investment," noted Tom Weithman, CIT GAP Funds managing director. "Our investments have leveraged another $21 million of private equity investments in emerging Virginia companies, accelerating the pace of moving innovation into the marketplace."

Summaries of the CIT GAP Funds portfolio companies are available at http://www.citgapfund.org/portfolio/gapfundI.html.

About the Center for Innovative Technology, www.cit.org

CIT is a nonprofit corporation that accelerates the next generation of technology and technology companies. CIT creates new technology companies through capital formation, market development and revenue generation services. To facilitate national innovation leadership and accelerate the rate of technology adoption, CIT creates partnerships between innovative technology start-up companies and advanced technology consumers. CIT is now listed on the GSA MOBIS Schedule, Special Item Numbers (SINs) SIN 874-1 for Consulting Services and SIN 894-2 for Facilitation Services. Its CAGE Code is 1UP71.