Digital Marketer edo Interactive Raises $15 Million from Investors

Card-linked marketer edo Interactive is adding investors.

The Nashville-based company said Thursday it has raised $15 million in venture capital from a group of funders led by VantagePoint Capital Partners and Baird Venture Partners.

The investment brings to roughly $54 million the amount edo has raised since its start in 2007. The company says it will use the proceeds to speed up adoption of its service, which links offers from merchants to consumers' credit and debit cards.

More than 140 financial institutions, including Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) and Ally Financial, and about 200 retailers use edo's offer system for the digital deals, which consumers can redeem instantly.

Edo is among several companies that connect directly with banks to offer loyalty and rewards programs funded completely by merchants. Rivals include Cardlytics, Cartera Commerce and FreeMonee Network, which allows retailers to offer a bank's customers a virtual gift card.

In May, edo began testing a service that analyzes the location data in consumer transaction information. Whenever a consumer makes a purchase, the service provides an offer for a merchant that is within walking distance of where the first payment took place.