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“Mobile electronic payments are the way of the future in India. PayMate has figured out how to unleash the potential of the phone as the primary transaction terminal for the over 260 million mobile users in India,” said Nikhil Khattau, MD, Mayfield Advisors, who also join the PayMate board.
PayMate works with service providers like airlines and banks to enable transactions on mobile phones and wireless devices. Customers can buy an air ticket by sending an SMS and pay by credit card through a secure IVRS call-back service. “It's still early days for mobile commerce; it's not as pervasive as a credit card or debit card but growing fast. But with increasing awareness of mobile as a device, it will grow at 30-35 per cent. The capital will help us fund our growth for the next 18-24 months,'' said PayMate's director and co-founder Probir Roy. In July 2006, Sherpalo Ventures and Kleiner Perkins had invested $5 million in PayMate. PayMate's promoters—Ajay Adiseshann, founder and MD, Coruscant Tec and co-founder and director Probir Roy—are likely to retain a majority stake even after two rounds of equity dilution, said sources close to the deal. “PayMate has made significant progress in the Indian sub continent and is poised to achieve an international footprint and leadership in the near future and hence KPCB is pleased to continue its association with PayMate in its next round of growth capital,” Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said in the statement. “We are encouraged by the confidence that the investors have shown in us. We believe that the global knowledge and experience of our investors will help us scale our business strategically,” PayMate said in a statement. PayMate serves thirteen banks in India and abroad like IDBI Bank, Corporation Bank, Cosmos Bank, Bank of Ceylon, HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Canara Bank, and ABN Amro for enabling mobile banking for their customers. It has also tied up with telecom service providers like Tata Indicom and airlines like Kingfisher Airlines to enable its subscribers to book flight tickets anywhere, anytime on the mobile. The mobile payments space is a multi billion dollar opportunity. Mobile phones have crossed 260 million in user base, which exceeds the user base of bank accounts, TV, Internet and radio! Mumbai-based PayMate was founded in May 2006 by Ajay Adiseshann, Founder and MD, Coruscant Tec and Co-founder, & Director Probir Roy. Mayfield Fund, with $2.7 billion under management, has invests in emerging businesses in the US, China and India. It has invested in over 480 companies of which 105 have had initial public offerings and another 160 have been acquired. Mayfield Fund's India-based team is currently investing in the infrastructure ancillaries and services, manufacturing, consumer services, technology and technology-enabled services sectors. |
Source: Business Standard