Report: ZipZap raises $1.1 million in new funding round

San Francisco-based global payment network ZipZap has secured $1.1 million in a new round of seed funding, bringing the startup’s funding record to $2.7 million. The latest funding round ended in June, and was led by an AngelList syndicate created by Bitcoin Foundation board member Brock Pierce, with additional funds contributed by 500 Startups and Blumberg Capital. Additionally, the company announced the addition of former Wells Fargo executive Jim Griffin, who will become ZipZap’s new senior vice president of currency and foreign exchange.

In a report on CoinDesk, Griffin said that his decision to join the company was inspired by the “current state of the financial market,” and the increasing popularity and adoption of digital currencies. “This is an exciting time to join ZipZap and be a part of its growth and the evolution of currency on a global scale,” he noted.

CoinDesk noted that ZipZap has a unique advantage in the global payments field, having been indirectly involved with bitcoin since 2010 when the company’s retail location “red phone” service allowed users to transfer money to early bitcoin exchanges. ZipZap repositioned itself as a bitcoin-oriented company late last year, introducing cash-to-bitcoin services at 28,000 locations in the U.K. The company’s long-term plan to move into digital currency-based remittances is well known, and was likely one of the major talking points in the June funding round.