Struggling London coffee startup DripApp has sold its 'Oyster card for drinks' app to Swipii

DripApp, an app that allowed Londoners to buy coffee from independent stores at reduced prices, has been acquired by digital loyalty and marketing platform Swipii.

The terms and value of the deal were not disclosed.

DripApp cofounder Jeremy Cortial told Business Insider: "All I can say is that the deal is fair for both parties and we see great potential of working with Swipii."

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Glasgow, Swipii describes itself as a "complete automated marketing retail suite for hyperlocal retailers." The company has been backed with $2.5 million (£2 million) in venture funding.

DripApp, which was sort of like an Oyster card for coffee, ran into financial difficulties this year after Brexit made easyJet billionaire Sir Stellios Haji-Ioannou withdraw an investment offer that was in the order of £500,000 and would have valued the company at £2 million.

With dwindling financial resources, DripApp was left with little choice but to shut down earlier this month and it removed itself from the App Store.

In an email to users at the time of the shut down, DripApp wrote: "We arrived at a crossroads in DripApp's future and had to make a major decision. The last few months have been really difficult, and we have decided to stop running DripApp as a coffee provider.

"The reality is that running an app is not simple; it needs supporting staff and funds. We are a very small team and it recently became quite complicated to run the app properly with our existing funding and team. Today we are facing a lot of bugs and issues in the app that we can't get fixed."

Those that have downloaded the app already are unable to access their accounts, many of which contain credit that they purchased in order to buy discounted Flat Whites and Americanos through the app.

Several DripApp customers have taken to Twitter to ask when they will get their money back.

"Regarding the refund of the users, to be honest we are extremely busy right now so we are doing it by small batch," said Cortial. "The thing is it takes a lot of time since we need to find for every single one the transaction in our payment provider solution."

DripApp now plans to focus on building a platform called DripHub, which is a website that allows coffee shop owners to purchase coffee beans, teas, milks, cups, and other retail items.