Airbnb is reportedly in talks to acquire an app that allows people to pool together money

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Tilt Founders_2

Tilt

Tilt's cofounders James Beshara (left) and Khaled Hussein (right).

Airbnb is in talks to acquire a payments startup called Tilt, The Information first reported.

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Tilt is a crowdfunding platform that allows groups and communities to collect, fundraise, or pool money online so they they can make events and projects happen.

The service allows people set up online campaigns to raise money for everything from 5-a-side football league payments to refugee charity donations.

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"It's the digital version of putting money in a hat," CEO and cofounder James Beshara told Business Insider in November 2015, shortly after the platform went live in the UK.

Two sources with knowledge of the acquisition discussions told The Information that the home-sharing company is looking to buy Tilt for between $10 million (£8 million) and $20 million (£16 million), while TechCrunch sources said the deal could be north of $50 million (£40 million).

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A deal in the tens of millions would likely be a disappointing exit for Tilt given it was reportedly valued at $400 million (£318 million) after raising $62 million (£50 million) in May 2015.

Tilt launched in Britain in July 2015 and by November 2015 it had over 1,000 applications from students wanting to be campus ambassadors for the app, according to UK manager Olivier Buffon.

Airbnb is interested in Tilt's expertise in payments rather than its ongoing business, according to The Information.

Airbnb and Tilt did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

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