nanoPay Raises $10 Million In Series A Funding Round

NanoPay, the Canadian payments company that owns the MintChip cloud-based digital currency, reportedly raised $10 million in a Series A funding round.

According to a report, Goldman Sachs took part in the round of fundraising through its merchant banking division. Other investors included APAGM Services, Jarnac Capital Management and Rohatton.

MintChip, which was developed by the Royal Canadian Mint, aims to bring the benefits of cash into the digital age, providing users with instant, private, secure and fee-free access to their money. Before MintChip launched commercially, the report noted the Mint was told to get rid of the alternative currency, which nanoPay stepped in and acquired. The report noted MintChip’s open API platform enables users to securely store and transfer any form of digital value instantly and without the need for middlemen. With the platform, transactions are final, irrevocable and settled in real time. The system uses cryptography to protect assets and is designed to work both online and offline, the report said.

NanoPay will use the round of funding to increase its business partnerships and roll out on a wider basis. The company also wants to develop new services geared toward the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. “After successfully deploying MintChip as a digital cash platform in Canada in June 2016, our focus is now on expanding the platform beyond digital cash to a broad range of B2B use cases that have global applications — for example, business-to-consumer disbursements and cross-border payments,” said Laurence Cooke, CEO of NanoPay, in the report.

During the summer, nanoPay launched the MintChip digital currency platform for consumers. This commercial deployment of MintChip, which the company lauded as a “regulator-friendly digital cash platform designed to be a safe, secure and fast way to send money and pay merchants,” is available now for all consumers in Canada. After downloading the app, consumers can use MintChip to send and receive digital cash with others. “Canadian consumers and businesses have an opportunity to be the first to experience the benefits of MintChip digital cash,” Cooke said at the time. “Whether sending money to a friend or paying in-store, MintChip provides Canadians their first glimpse of a cashless society.”