- Fintech startup Zerone Microsystems raises USD 1.3 million funding from IAN Angels, IAN Fund, & TCA
- The Delhi-based startup has developed a cloud-based, ultra-low-cost SoftPOS solution called Bharat ZupPOS which can simply be downloaded to a smartphone by merchants and professionals
- Bharat ZupPOS converts any smartphone into a payment terminal and allows merchants to accept payment from credit cards, debit cards, and UPI apps such as BHIM without any additional attachments
- The solution provides retailers and professionals with a low-cost digital payments system with support for NFC-based payments, non-NFC card payments, and UPI/ QR Code-based payments alongside others
- The platform already has over 30,000 merchants using it, that includes professionals such as doctors, architects and others
- With the latest round of funding, the platform aims to launch segment-specific SoftPOS services along with additional features such as accounting to improve user stickiness.
New Delhi, January 05, 2021: Fintech startup Zerone Microsystems Private Limited has now raised USD 1.3 million in its pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by IAN with participation from IAN Fund and TCA. Prominent angel investors like Sanjeev Bajaj, Raman Roy, Sanjeev Rishi, and Mahesh Ramachandran led the round.
Zerone boasts of over 30,000 merchants from Ladakh to Nagaland and from Jammu & Kashmir to Andaman Islands. It has the largest geographical reach. The startup has developed a cloud-based, ultra-low-cost SoftPOS solution called Bharat ZupPOS. Built on its proprietary technology, ZupPOS converts any smartphone into a payment terminal and allows merchants to accept payment from credit cards, debit cards, and UPI apps such as BHIM without any additional hardware, using only their smartphones. Bharat ZupPOS is currently available on Google Playstore and on Indus App Bazaar.
Zerone is now preparing itself to further scale its cost-effective SoftPOS offerings AND develop new segment-specific SoftPOS solutions. Zerone will broaden its offerings with interactive features such as games. news as well as accounting – making it a platform of choice.
Zerone Microsystems Private Limited was founded by Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya, an ex-KPMG Senior Partner and former India Head of Center for 4th Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum. Zerone's objective is to democratize card acceptance along with acceptance of other forms of payments such as UPI/QR Code and Bharat QR code. This would enable the 850 million debit card holders and 50 million credit cardholders to make digital payments to a larger set of merchants, using their cards. It would also enable the debit cards holders of the massive number of constituents of the government's Jan Dhan Yojna program to make digital payments through their debit cards. There are over 360 million citizens as part of Jan Dhan Yojna.
Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya, Founder and CEO, Zerone Microsystems Private Limited said, "In India, a total of 80 million people require digital payment acceptance terminal but only 4 million merchants have the hardware POS machine. So, there is a sizable unmet market demand existing. This is where ZupPOS plays an integral role. It is a ultra low-cost digital payment solution for merchants and professionals that converts any smartphone into a payment terminal and also enables frictionless payment between smartphones with a simple swipe. We are delighted to have IAN and TCA on board as investors and will leverage the capital infusion to strengthen our platform in providing enhanced services to our users."
Zerone raised funds from its investors, enabled by the FInD platform, an initiative of the Mumbai FinTech Hub. FInD (FinTech Investments and Deals) Program has a digital platform that connects FinTechs looking for funding with interested VCs. FInD has till date facilitated in raising more than $2 million for its start-up ecosystem, with Zerone Microsystems being its latest success story.
Speaking on the latest development, Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder, IAN, said, "Zerone brings an extremely innovative technology to bring a large number of our citizens into the digital payment ambit, effectively leveraging India's UPI platform. We are really excited with the excellent team of Zerone, led by Jaijit Bhattacharya and do look forward to helping make this another successful company from the IAN stable."
"TCA (The Chennai Angels) has been in the forefront of investing in innovative tech startups. We are pleased to invest along with IAN (Indian Angel Network) in Zerone Microsystems. The SoftPOS will enable smart phones to accept physical card payments without the need for hardware-based point of sale devices in addition to supporting QR Code and UPI. This disruptive innovation will create an ecosystem for SME merchants to participate in the digital payment ecosystem" said Mahesh Ramachandran, Lead Investor at TCA who will be Investment Director in Zerone Microsystems.
About IAN
Indian Angel Network is India's first and world's largest business angel network with close to 500 members across the world, comprising the who's who of successful entrepreneurs and dynamic CEOs. With investors from 12 countries, IAN's presence spans 7 locations, which includes cities in India and the UK. The network is sector agnostic and has funded start-ups across 17 sectors in India and 7 other countries growing global footprint companies. With an excellent track record, IAN has been giving excellent cash exits year-on-year to its investor-members, for the last 11 years. Some of its marquee investee companies include Druva, Box8, Sapience Analytics, WOW Momos, Consure, Fareye amongst many others.
IAN has also launched the IAN Fund, an INR 375 crore fund, is a uniquely differentiated seed/early stage Fund which aims to transform India's entrepreneurial landscape. The fund invests in innovative companies in sectors including healthcare and medical devices, VR, AI, software as a service, marketplaces, fin-tech, big data, artificial intelligence, agritech and hardware. With this, IAN has created the single largest platform for seed and early stage investing, enabling entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 25 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores.
Zerone boasts of over 30,000 merchants from Ladakh to Nagaland and from Jammu & Kashmir to Andaman Islands. It has the largest geographical reach. The startup has developed a cloud-based, ultra-low-cost SoftPOS solution called Bharat ZupPOS. Built on its proprietary technology, ZupPOS converts any smartphone into a payment terminal and allows merchants to accept payment from credit cards, debit cards, and UPI apps such as BHIM without any additional hardware, using only their smartphones. Bharat ZupPOS is currently available on Google Playstore and on Indus App Bazaar.
Zerone is now preparing itself to further scale its cost-effective SoftPOS offerings AND develop new segment-specific SoftPOS solutions. Zerone will broaden its offerings with interactive features such as games. news as well as accounting – making it a platform of choice.
Zerone Microsystems Private Limited was founded by Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya, an ex-KPMG Senior Partner and former India Head of Center for 4th Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum. Zerone's objective is to democratize card acceptance along with acceptance of other forms of payments such as UPI/QR Code and Bharat QR code. This would enable the 850 million debit card holders and 50 million credit cardholders to make digital payments to a larger set of merchants, using their cards. It would also enable the debit cards holders of the massive number of constituents of the government's Jan Dhan Yojna program to make digital payments through their debit cards. There are over 360 million citizens as part of Jan Dhan Yojna.
Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya, Founder and CEO, Zerone Microsystems Private Limited said, "In India, a total of 80 million people require digital payment acceptance terminal but only 4 million merchants have the hardware POS machine. So, there is a sizable unmet market demand existing. This is where ZupPOS plays an integral role. It is a ultra low-cost digital payment solution for merchants and professionals that converts any smartphone into a payment terminal and also enables frictionless payment between smartphones with a simple swipe. We are delighted to have IAN and TCA on board as investors and will leverage the capital infusion to strengthen our platform in providing enhanced services to our users."
Zerone raised funds from its investors, enabled by the FInD platform, an initiative of the Mumbai FinTech Hub. FInD (FinTech Investments and Deals) Program has a digital platform that connects FinTechs looking for funding with interested VCs. FInD has till date facilitated in raising more than $2 million for its start-up ecosystem, with Zerone Microsystems being its latest success story.
Speaking on the latest development, Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder, IAN, said, "Zerone brings an extremely innovative technology to bring a large number of our citizens into the digital payment ambit, effectively leveraging India's UPI platform. We are really excited with the excellent team of Zerone, led by Jaijit Bhattacharya and do look forward to helping make this another successful company from the IAN stable."
"TCA (The Chennai Angels) has been in the forefront of investing in innovative tech startups. We are pleased to invest along with IAN (Indian Angel Network) in Zerone Microsystems. The SoftPOS will enable smart phones to accept physical card payments without the need for hardware-based point of sale devices in addition to supporting QR Code and UPI. This disruptive innovation will create an ecosystem for SME merchants to participate in the digital payment ecosystem" said Mahesh Ramachandran, Lead Investor at TCA who will be Investment Director in Zerone Microsystems.
About IAN
Indian Angel Network is India's first and world's largest business angel network with close to 500 members across the world, comprising the who's who of successful entrepreneurs and dynamic CEOs. With investors from 12 countries, IAN's presence spans 7 locations, which includes cities in India and the UK. The network is sector agnostic and has funded start-ups across 17 sectors in India and 7 other countries growing global footprint companies. With an excellent track record, IAN has been giving excellent cash exits year-on-year to its investor-members, for the last 11 years. Some of its marquee investee companies include Druva, Box8, Sapience Analytics, WOW Momos, Consure, Fareye amongst many others.
IAN has also launched the IAN Fund, an INR 375 crore fund, is a uniquely differentiated seed/early stage Fund which aims to transform India's entrepreneurial landscape. The fund invests in innovative companies in sectors including healthcare and medical devices, VR, AI, software as a service, marketplaces, fin-tech, big data, artificial intelligence, agritech and hardware. With this, IAN has created the single largest platform for seed and early stage investing, enabling entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 25 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores.
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