Cartera Commerce, the leading provider of card-linked marketing solutions, today announced it has raised $12.2 million in growth equity to capitalize on the massive opportunity in card-linked marketing -- a market projected by analysts to exceed $1.7B by 2015. The round was led by Comvest Group and included new investments from all of Cartera's previous investors including Flybridge Capital Partners, Dace Ventures, LBO Enterprises, and Venture Capital Fund of New England. Cartera will use the capital to increase investment in sales, product development and operations to support the rapidly increasing demand for card-linked offers from local and national merchants, banks and loyalty programs, and consumers.

Earlier this year Cartera announced record 2011 results, including more than $1B in merchant sales and record advertising revenues, fueled by 785% year-over-year increase in local advertising spend. Cartera has raised $43 million in capital to date.

"Comvest is excited to make our first direct investment in Cartera -- the largest and most innovative company in a large and growing market," said Pete Kight, co-chairman and managing partner of the Comvest Group and founder, former chairman and CEO of CheckFree, which was acquired by Fiserv in 2007. "Card-linked marketing provides unique and compelling value propositions for local and national merchants, banks and issuers, and consumers. Cartera's dramatic revenue growth, new solutions for local merchants, award-winning technology and strong management team position the company well to capitalize on this disruptive market opportunity."

"The combination of today's value-conscious consumer, the explosive growth in local deals and digital advertising, and the increased urgency among banks and issuers to drive incremental revenue has created a unique and exciting market opportunity for Cartera," said Tom Beecher, president and CEO of Cartera Commerce. "This additional funding will enable Cartera to extend our leadership position, accelerate growth and accommodate tremendous demand from merchants and banks."

Cartera leads the card-linked marketing industry by connecting tens of thousands of participating in-store and online merchant advertisers to more than 65 million active credit and debit cards from the nation's top banks, card issuers and loyalty co-brand programs.

In March, Cartera announced the nationwide rollout of OfferLink Local, the company's card-linked offer solution for local businesses. Unlike Daily Deals which require local merchants to fund exorbitant discounts and change point-of-sale systems, OfferLink Local enables merchants to market offers to millions of incentivized consumers that automatically deliver rewards in currencies they care about -- miles, points or cashback -- simply by using a linked credit or debit card.

About Cartera Commerce
Cartera Commerce is the leading provider of card-linked marketing solutions that increase revenue and customer loyalty for merchants, banks, card issuers and loyalty programs. For merchants, Cartera powers OfferLink(SM), the industry's largest card-linked advertising network that markets offers to more than 150 million consumers -- including 65 million active linked cards -- to help acquire and retain customers. For banks, card issuers and loyalty programs, Cartera provides the industry's most comprehensive card-linked offer platform that powers personalized in-store and online shopping programs to build consumer engagement, maximize card spend and create new revenue streams. Three of the top four largest financial institutions, all five largest airlines and thousands of merchant advertisers drive incremental revenue with Cartera's fully-managed, performance-based solutions. The company is headquartered in Lexington, MA and has significant operations in Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit www.cartera.com.