Minkasu, a mobile payments company operating out of California, has just secured $1 million in seed funding through a consortium of investors, TechCrunch reported Friday (Jan. 15).
The roster of investors included a number of individual investors, among them Dan Palanisamy, former Bank of America vice president of mobile development and delivery, and physician Kannappan Mohan, among others.
Minkasu has said that the funds raised will be used to bring additional merchants to its network.
[bctt tweet=”Minkasu has said that the funds raised will be used to bring additional merchants to its network.”]
As TechCrunch reported, the small startup is going head to head against “several formidable rivals, but Minkasu believes it has developed the easiest way to make mobile payments.” Minkasu’s payments platform works across iOS and Android applications to store credit card information with a layer of security through encryption, which does not necessitate the use of passwords. The platform also operates through a one-click system, according to the company.
The company traces its genesis to last year, with an email from the company to TechCrunch stating that its initial app relied on authentication, issuing “public key certificates” to users and utilizing biometrics that have become a part of security options offered through various mobile devices. Minkasu then took that authentication technology a bit further afield with the creation of a mobile credit card payment platform that spans various operating systems and various retail channels.
Under the processes currently in place, those customers using Minkasu’s app must enter payment information and shipping details into their smartphones. The credit card information is “scrambled and split” into random numbers and stored in the cloud and on the smartphone itself. The app allows for an online checkout experience that includes a “checkout with smartphone” button. The payments are then completed using the one-click function. The company maintains that its system is easier to use than PayPal and other online payment systems.