Exclusive: Digital receipts startup Flux to close down its network

Flux, the digital receipts startup founded in 2016 by three former Revolut employees, is tomorrow closing down its receipts and cashback network in the UK.

Customers were informed of the decision last night in an email seen by AltFi, with the subject “Thank you, and goodbye”, which explained that from Friday Flux’s receipt network will stop working and its cashback offers were being suspended immediately.

"We’re incredibly sad to say goodbye to our network of retailers, bank partners and customers,” Flux’s co-founders Veronique Barbosa and Tom Reay told AltFi.

“We’re unable to share details on what's next for Flux right now but will put out a fuller statement in the coming weeks. We’re thankful for the support over the years and are proud of how far we've come in our mission to digitise receipt data in the UK."

It’s yet unclear what this means for Flux as a business, whether the company will either pivot or look to sell any of its assets.

Flux’s email simply explained that from Friday all customer data would be deleted, while existing receipts would remain available via your banking app.

The fintech reached 1 million customers earlier this year, with around 700,000 receipts digitised every month from retailers like H&M and Papa John’s.

Last year Flux expanded to offer cashback via Flux Offers, a service that lets retailers go beyond just a digital receipt and offer rewards for shoppers.

In total Flux raised around $9.1m in funding, with high street bank Barclays backing the fintech early on via its Barclays Accelerator programme and later taking part in the company’s Series A funding round.

“It’s been a challenging few years for the retail sector, but we’re proud to have come as far as we have,” the email to customers last night concluded. 

“Thank you for being a valued Flux customer and believing in our mission.”