YouTuber Vikkstar becomes ‘part-owner’ of VibePay

The partnership and shareholding marks the first of its kind between a YouTuber and a UK fintech.

As a business with a top-tier social media strategy, it’s no wonder that VibePay has taken the next step to team up with one of the biggest creators in the UK. 

Vikram ‘Vikkstar’ Singh Barn, a member of KSI’s Sidemen and YouTuber with nearly 7.5m followers, has become a ‘part-owner’ of VibePay. 

The new partnership will help to shed a light on making account-to-account payments the go-to way to pay streamers and other creators. 

“With our community still being burnt by the middleman when it comes to payments, VibePay solves a genuine problem and brings a new set of features that I believe will transform how we, as creators, engage with our audiences in the future,” Vikkstar said. 

“Having watched the likes of WeChat in Asia and CashApp in the US  gain so much popularity, I see so much potential in VibePay becoming Europe's equivalent.” 

Under the partnership, Vikkstar will help shape VibePay’s product and build its brand to serve the booming creator economy in the UK and Europe. 

Vikkstar has not directly invested in the business, VibePay told AltFi, but has been given an undisclosed number of shares, the same class of shares that founders and investors received, as part of joining the company as a shareholder and partner.

“As [Vikkstar] has built a huge solo following across multiple platforms and is part of one of the biggest online collectives there is in The Sidemen, we couldn’t ask for more in terms of insight across online communities and what the entrepreneurs of tomorrow need,” VibePay’s CEO and founder Luke Massie added. 

“We believe this strategy of offering influencers part-ownership will be the business model of the future to drive growth and increase brand awareness.” 

Last month, VibePay found itself embroiled in a trademark dispute with Klarna after the BNPL giant tried to trademark the word ‘vibe’, a trademark that VibePay already holds in Europe.