Fintech platform Douugh (ASX:DOU) says its Mastercard partnership is in motion with the launch of its new virtual card service.

The US-based company said customers will now get instant access to their Douugh Mastercard upon sign-up, which they can then add to their mobile wallet.

Douugh said the in-app virtual card will allow customers to use the service immediately, before they receive their physical card.

The company has made a few announcements this week, after teeing up a partnership deal with affiliate marketing company Rakuten — a “low-risk” way to increase mobile app downloads, it said.

DOU shares ticked higher this morning to around 20c following the virtual card announcement.

Douugh Mastercard (and everything else)

The Douugh Mastercard news follows a busy period of market updates for the company.

Douugh’s current trading range still marks a healthy gain to its October IPO price, when the company raised $6m at 3c and surged out of the blocks to reach a high of almost 40c in November.

But it’s slightly off a follow-up $12m raise in early December, which was priced at 22c.

After bursting onto the listed fintech scene, Douugh spent a chunk of the March quarter off the ASX boards after going into a trading halt on December 21.

That turned into a suspension on December 23, pending a new acquisition announcement and a response by the company to an ASX query about a breach of listing rule 10.11 in connection with related party transactions.

The company said its board had also undertaken a review of its corporate governance plans. DOU shares were reinstated on February 4.

Pre-IPO, Douugh CEO Andy Taylor said the end goal was to become a subscription-based “financial control centre” for its customers.

The company’s pitch to investors was based around a capital-light model, where it pursued a partnership approach with US banks in order to obtain the requisite financial licences to provide bank accounts and debit card services.

Douugh’s first partner in the US market is North Dakota-based lender Choice Bank.

The company’s half-year accounts to December 31 showed the company was still effectively pre-revenue in the second half of 2020.

It booked other income of $269,855, which was largely comprised of government grants. Revenue from customers came in at $1,290.

Douugh reported a half-year before-tax loss of $5,432,420, largely due to corporate restructure costs ($3,001,690), share-based payments ($988,500) and employee benefit expenses ($604,633).

Following its capital raisings, Douugh finished the December half with a healthy cash balance of $16m.

A trading update on February 18 showed the company had onboarded 8,001 customers with a total card spend of $US281,512, from which the company derives transaction revenue (amount not specified).