Personalized digital gifting platform On Me announced a 5-year industry partnership with Mastercard and $1.7 million in pre-seed funding from Lerer Hippeau and Focal.VC as it emerges from stealth.
Founded by Darragh Meaney and Sitar Harel (two former Google Product Managers), On Me will use the funds to expand its retailer partnerships and build out R&D to transform the $200 billion gift card industry. And advancing the industry from magnetic swipe technology pioneered in the 1980s to sleek, modern mobile wallets, with Apple Pay and Google Pay integration, On Me allows consumers to purchase and checkout seamlessly with just a few taps on your phone.
On Me personalizes each gift card around a specific hobby or interest, reshaping the traditional single-store gift card model. For example, the Running, On Me gift card grants access to 25 top running brands like HOKA, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and REI. And this multi-store approach reflects how today’s runner sources gear from multiple retailers, ensuring they find the ideal shoes, apparel, and accessories for their next race. On Me’s platform offers 70+ gift cards and 2,000+ affiliates to shop with, spanning categories from running to reading, DIY to dance—each card is valid across a curated selection of top retailers.
Consumers have become accustomed to media-rich experiences offered by TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. And On Me seeks to bring that same dynamic to gifting, infusing gifts with video notes, photos, and GIFs to create truly personal and meaningful exchanges.
Last year, gift card-related fraud accounted for $217 million according to the Federal Trade Commission. This shows how weak security features make traditional cards an easy target. And On Me addresses this issue by building its platform on modern payment infrastructure, delivering a fast and secure gifting experience. With Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) integrated across all transactions, this platform tackles the security gaps of traditional gift cards. On Me is designed to be both safe and seamless. Mobile payments utilize on-device encryption, ensuring each transaction is not only quick but also very secure.
On Me is focused on addressing the environmental impact of gifting. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies vinyl chloride, the primary component of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used in most gift cards, as a human carcinogen. In 2021 alone, 3.4 billion plastic gift cards were sold in the U.S., each containing an average of 5 grams of plastic, resulting in 37.5 million pounds of non-biodegradable waste. Traditional gift cards contribute significantly to plastic pollution, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable solutions.
On Me currently offers 70+ interest-based digital gift cards and the platform’s vision extends beyond products to include curated experiences. On Me users will soon be able to gift adventures like skydiving, horseback riding, cooking classes, and wine tastings, reflecting On Me’s ethos of creating memorable moments, not just transactions.
KEY QUOTE:
“Traditional gift cards have fallen behind in the digital age. We’re reshaping this space with experiences that are not only highly personalized but also built for seamless integration with modern smartphones.”
- Darragh Meaney, CEO of On Me
