New York-based startup Zipmark has raised $2 million in seed funding, according to a press release. Village Ventures and Contour Venture Partners led the funding round, which also included NYC Seed, High Peaks Venture Partners, and several angel investors.
One of the other investors in this round was the New York City Investment Fund, which earlier this year sponsored a 12-week program for what it dubs “fintech” entrepreneurs—folks developing new applications for the financial-services industry. Zipmark was one of six companies selected from a pool of 90 applicants to participate in the inaugural version of the program, called FinTech Innovation Lab.
Zipmark allows people to use their smartphones to send money from their bank accounts directly to merchants. The app also enables people to pay charges they receive on paper invoices that include QR codes—the specialized bar codes that smartphones can read. Zipmark charges vendors fees of 1 percent per transaction, with a cap of $5. The company said in the statement it will use the funding to further its goal of “bringing the checkbook into the 21st century.”
