Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bling Nation, a mobile payments company, has raised $8 million in a first round of capital. The company has raised a total of $13.3 million, including a seed round. Investors in the round include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Meck and CampVentures. 

Founded in 2007, Bling Nation says its proprietary technology is attractive to banks and retailers because it is cheaper to use than traditional credit or debit card networks. Its first customer, Colorado-based The State Bank, started using the payment system in May. To go mainstream, Bling will have to convince consumers to adhere special stickers on their phones to conduct the purchases. The bigger hurdle is likely on the merchant side, which will have to upgrade their readers, according to a story in American-Banker.