Crowdtilt, a startup that offers a simple-to-use platform where anyone can easily collect, fundraise or pool money with a group, announced today the beta launch of its API.
The API will allow third parties to easily and quickly tap into the group payments capability offered by Crowdtilt.
A vacation home rental website using Crowdtilt's API, could let five friends pay their share for a vacation home rental, and only charge the credit cards once all five individuals have paid. Similarly, new crowdfunding models allowed under the JOBS Act can now easily be powered through this crowdfunding API.
Crowdtilt's API will provide an off-the-shelf solution to handle group payments. Developers can choose from various payments processors, such as Stripe, Balanced, and Braintree to integrate into their application. The API also provides collaboration tools such as comments, updates, messaging, etc. Crowdtilt is waiving its fees for the invitation-only beta version.
The Crowdtilt API opens up the opportunity to:
- Offer a group payments option during checkout
- Offer a pre-sales commerce option
- Develop a crowdfunding application (single project like Lockitron or multi-project model like Kickstarter)
- Develop a social fundraising application
"The hardest part of any crowdfunding application is the billing mechanism needed to handle all the intricacies of grouping payments together. Our goal was to make it as easy as possible for any developer to plug in and get started as quickly as possible," said James Beshara, Crowdtilt CEO and Co-Founder. "We are excited to see the possibilities this API will open up amongst the developer community, and the additional innovations it will bring about in the crowdfunding space. We strongly believe that this API is a stepping stone to a complete new wave of applications and business models that will dramatically change the way we collaborate around money."