Tyfone, a provider of mobile banking, mobile contactless payment and secure mobility solutions, today announced the company has closed Series B financing of $5 million.
The preferred stock financing includes new strategic investors HDFC Holdings Ltd., Polaris Software Lab and a strategic manufacturing partner, together with continued participation from Ojas Venture Partners.
Tyfone will use the capital to accelerate production of SideTapTM MicroSD memory cards for mobile contactless transactions and scale its software centric business including mobile banking, couponing and loyalty solutions. Over the next two to three years, analysts forecast contactless payment transactions via MicroSD technology will be used by more than 20 million people in North America alone, at thousands of contactless payment terminals already in place.
"Tyfone was founded in 2004 with the belief that 'mobility' will create profound changes in the way people everywhere engage in commerce," said Tom Spitzer, CEO of Tyfone. "Now that our core technology has been developed, patented and is in production, this new funding allows Tyfone the ability to bring our solutions to new markets and build a broader ecosystem. The investors who participated in our Series B financing round bring unique expertise within financial services and we'll benefit from their knowledge beyond the value of their financial investment in Tyfone."
"The market for mobile financial services is nascent but significant. HDFC Holdings was impressed with the team, the technology, and patents that Tyfone possesses and we recognize that Tyfone is in a unique position to leverage a global market opportunity," said V Srinivasa Rangan, director of HDFC Holdings, Ltd.
"Polaris Software Lab's investment in Tyfone is in line with our vision of global leadership in the financial transaction space. Our most comprehensive suite of Intellect products and Tyfone's groundbreaking innovation in the mobile payments industry will prove to be a potent combination when packaged to deliver greater efficiency and higher value to our customers," said Arun Jain, founder, chairman & CEO, Polaris Software Lab, Ltd.
"Ojas Venture Partners continued participation in this series B round of financing is a testament to its belief in the team, the business opportunity and the milestones the company has achieved. We have been impressed with the company's prudence, determination and its critical accomplishments in building a unique and global product line, patents and partnerships. Our continued participation will assist Tyfone in building a strong international team, attract quality technology partners and secure significant commercial wins," said Rajesh Srivathsa, managing partner of Ojas Venture Partners.
Over the past 12 months, Tyfone has achieved major industry milestones, including:
* Adding a US patent for "Electronic Transaction Cards" to Tyfone's patent portfolio, which was filed February 22, 2005 and issued September 1, 2009
* Partnering with First Data to bring Tyfone's SideTapTM MicroSD based contactless payment solution to market
* Launching of mobile banking & signing new financial institutions as mobile banking customers
* Obtaining industry recognition as a pioneer and leading innovator in the mobile transaction (NFC) and mobile banking arena