Nanopay Raises $10 Million Series A

By David Penn for Finovate Blog

With support from Goldman Sachs, Canadian payments innovator nanoPay has raised $10 million in new funding. The Series A also featured the participation of APAGM Services, Jarnac Capital Management, and Rohatton. nanoPay said the investment will help it develop business partnerships in advance of a larger rollout of its MintChip digital currency technology. The funding will also help nanoPay build additional complimentary services for both the B2B and B2C markets.

nanoPay CEO Laurence Cooke elaborated on on this point, saying that in the wake of MintChip’s successful deployment in Canada this summer “our focus is now on expanding the platform beyond digital cash to a broad range of B2B uses cases that have global applications.” Cooke referred to both B2C disbursements and cross-border payments as examples.

Developed by the Royal Canadian Mint and purchased by nanoPay in 2015, MintChip is a cloud-based currency that can be used to securely store and transfer digital value instantly, without third party intervention. The technology provides for final, irrevocable transactions in real-time that are cryptographically secured. For consumers, MintChip provides a faster checkout process that combines both loyalty programs and payments, and works online as well as in-person. With its open API platform, MintChip has potential applications beyond commerce, including in telecommunications, central bank operations, and for acquirers.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, nanoPay demonstrated MintChip at FinovateFall 2016. Earlier this month, the companyannounced that Liberty Village would serve as a “working lab” for its digital currency. In July, nanoPay added Tracy Molino as general counsel and chief compliance officer and, in June, the company partnered with Ingenico Group to enable merchants to accept MintChip via their Ingenico Group smart terminals.

First appeared at Finovate Blog