ToneTag, a sound-based proximity payment company, has announced that it has raised a round of strategic funding, from a group of technology evangelists and digital payment crusaders.
The funding comes from marquee investors including Arun Seth, T. V. Mohandas Pai, Anand Chandrasekaran, T K Kurien and Deepak Ghaisas. Arun is a trustee of the NASSCOM foundation and has also served as Chairman, Alcatel-Lucent India Ltd and Chairman at BT (India) Private Limited.
T.V. Mohandas Pai is the Chairman of Manipal Global Education. He used to be a member of the board of Directors of Infosys, and Head – Administration, Education and Research, Financial, Human Resources, and Infosys Leadership Institute.
Anand Chandrasekaran was the Chief Product Officer of Snapdeal as well as Chief Product Officer of Bharti Airtel but now works at Facebook as part of the Messenger team. Deepak Ghaisas is the chairman of Gencoval Strategic Services Pvt Ltd. while T K Kurien is the Executive Vice Chairman, Wipro Limited.
ToneTag enables contactless proximity payments, proximity communication, location based services and customer engagement services among a multitude of other solutions. It is a product-first company that started off promoting financial inclusion through accessible solutions that bridge the last mile in digital payments.
It works closely with banks, retailers, payment providers and other stakeholders in the commerce and payment ecosystem to solve real problems that are affecting various industries.
Commenting on the funding round, Kumar Abhishek, Founder & CEO at ToneTag said,
ToneTag with its unique experience, a range of use cases and a strong partner network is striving to push India into a brighter digital era. Mohandas Pai, Arun, Deepak, Anand and T K have transformed several businesses with their proficiency and experience.
Their association with ToneTag, brings valuable know-how and will be an asset to the core team. Their individual and collaborative expertise will be instrumental in defining innovative solutions for our technology and give consumers access to many unique digital experiences, through various channels, that were previously not feasible.
Arun Seth, on the other hand, had this to say about ToneTag:
The announcement on large currency notes is another indicator of the government’s drive towards a cashless economy. ToneTag is right at the centre of this change, as it helps customers make contactless payments, that are easier, faster and more secure than paying by cash or cards.
ToneTag payments can be made on smart phones as well as feature phones, the latter being critical for financial inclusion. Also, ToneTag does not need NFC-compatible hardware or QR codes to be scanned. It claims to be fully compatible with existing financial infrastructure like credit card machines and ATM’s.
The company has partnered with major players in the areas of mobile wallets and banking to enable contactless digital transactions on mobile phones, card swiping machines, ATMs and all other acceptance enabling devices.
