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Revel raises $100M in bid to remake the cash register

Startup plans to use the funds to meet demand for its iPad point-of-sale platform for retailers, restaurants and grocery stores.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read

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The Revel Systems point-of-sale system in action, courtesy of the iPad. Revel Systems

Revel Systems, a company that provides point-of-sale systems that use Apple's iPad tablets, raised a serious amount of cash.

Revel Systems raised $100 million in a Series C round of funding led by New York-based private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), the company announced on Tuesday. WCAS is providing $65 million up front and an additional $25 million in an equity line. The remaining $10 million comes from a variety of investors.

Revel Systems said it will use the funds to "bolster support and operations" to meet demand for its iPad point-of-sale platform.

Revel Systems was founded in 2010 but didn't initially get the same kind of attention as one of its chief competitors, Square. Revel Systems provides iPad-based point-of-sale systems for a variety of retail and food establishments, and it announced in September that its service would support Apple's mobile-payments service, Apple Pay.

There's plenty of competition for terminals. Revel Systems is going up against more advanced point-of-sale terminals as well as inexpensive credit-card readers from Square and PayPal. Although it's often compared to Square, Revel Systems has focused its efforts on software that can be used by small business on up to major enterprises. While Square can be used by both big and small businesses, it is a favorite of small companies and users that don't require all of the bells and whistles of a traditional point-of-sale system.

Revel has been gaining customers in the point-of-sale space. The company announced earlier this year that its tools would be running at over 700 Smoothie King locations. It has deployed more than 5,000 of its iPad point-of-sale terminals to businesses including Dairy Queen, Goodwill and Pizza Patron.

Revel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.