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Ezetap Mobile Solutions, a Bengaluru-based mobile payments firm said it has raised Rs 150 crore in investors to fund its expansion and reach over two lakh small merchants across the country in a year.
Ezetap's current investors; Social+Capital, Helion Advisors, and Berggruen Holdings are joined by Horizons Ventures, the private investment arm for Li Ka-Shing, and the Capricorn Investment Group in this round.
Social+Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya will become Chairman of Board - the first time the former Facebook executive has taken on this role with a portfolio company outside the United States, Ezetap said in a statement.
Started in 2011 and launched in 2013, Ezetap has deployed over 60,000 new points of sale across India in under 30 months. Ezetap processes transactions worth over $1 million per day from businesses across spectrum, it said.The company had previously raised $ 35 million with existing investors.
"India is uniquely positioned to build an entirely new financial services ecosystem thanks to advancements like UID. Moreover, it's clear to us that this revolution will be mobile first - from mPOS to mobile wallets, and that Ezetap is the only company who can seamlessly and agnostically support this fast changing landscape," said Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder & Managing Partner, Social + Capital.
Ezetap's solution allows a merchant's mobile device to read any type of card and complete any type of financial transaction - from a credit card sale to a real-time bill payment, to an ATM cash withdrawal or deposit.
"Our vision is to be the most preferred, lowest cost, and universal platform through which businesses transact and engage with their customers. This funding, along with Chamath's active guidance from scaling Facebook, gives us the fuel to help Ezetap realize our vision and massive potential," Abhijit Bose, Co-Founder and CEO of Ezetap said,
The firm has partnerships with banks such as Citibank, HDFC bank and State Bank of India. American EXpress is an investor in Ezetap.
