A Memphis-based technology company is closer to entering the emerging digital wallet market.
Paay Co. is nearing the end of a closed beta test for its product, which allows customers to enter their phone numbers instead of credit card numbers when making online purchases.
The company just closed a round of funding where it will receive more than $500,000 in capital from investors. This is the second round of funding the company has received.
James Ruffer, Paay's founder, said the company is planning to hire five or six employees in Memphis over the next few months, which would give it a total of 13.
"We've been in stealth mode," Ruffer said.
The company's primary customer base will be credit card processors who work with online merchants. Ruffer said as more people move into the world of online purchases, fraud is becoming a bigger issue all the time. But verification in online purchases can often frustrate the same customers who are looking for a convenient transaction.
"The technology has always been there," he said. "We're trying to make this a quick checkout because the pet peeve was never the shopping experience, it was the checkout experience. You've got to remember user name and password and sign up for an account. We wanted to skip all that and do something different."
The next step for Paay Co. is getting certifications for use from Visa, MasterCard and banks like Wells Fargo. "We've shown investors what we can do," he said. "Now we're ready to launch and blow the doors off the sucker."
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