Matrix Partners India invests in Mswipe

The details of the deal were not disclosed, but Matrix typically makes initial investments ranging from INR10-750 million ($200,000 to $13million).

Mswipe provides a mobile application and plug-in card reader that allows merchants to turn their smartphone into a point of sale (POS) terminal which accepts debit and credit card payments. The company claims that in the four months since its service went live, its terminals have been adopted by around 4,000 merchants in over 200 cities and towns.

"Mswipe enables small and mid-sized merchants to accept regular credit and debit cards on their mobile phones with the same security and speed as conventional POS terminals at a very affordable price point and competitive card interchange fees," Manish Patel, founder and managing director at Mswipe said in a statement.

Mswipe has partnered with Prizm Payment Solutions and Axis Bank to provide its card acceptance service. The company currently employs 40 people.

"Mswipe is an early leader in creating a low cost, mobile POS infrastructure in India," said Rishi Navani, managing director at Matrix India. "Manish has extraordinary entrepreneurial energy and insights into the challenges faced by small and mid-size merchants, and we are excited to be his partners. This opportunity is at the cross-section of financial services and mobile, two important focus areas for Matrix India."

In the past year, there has been a lot of activity in India's payment sector, where 90% of commercial transactions are done in cash. This is the third Indian private equity investment in the mobile POS segment in as many months.

Last November Bangalore-based Ezetap Mobile Solution received Series A funding from Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Social+Capital Partnership, PayPal's Peter Thiel and David Sacks of Microsoft. Mumbai-based Mobiswipe technologies subsequently received an undisclosed amount from the One97 Mobility Fund, a fund jointly run by One97 communications with SAIF Partners.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Early-stage
• Financials
• Technology
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• India
• Venture
• SAIF Partners
• Matrix Partners
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