One of two firms in Mexico whose products facilitate credit card transactions for retailers has obtained US $1 million in funding from two Silicon Valley investors.
The Sr. Pago Card System is a mobile point of sale service that combines a smartphone credit card reader with a debit card that can be reloaded with the credit card payments received.
The target market for the system are individuals and small businesses, who are furnished with a secure, chip-based debit card, a reader that accepts both magnetic-strip and chip cards, and an application for managing the transactions.
Money received through the card reader can be transferred to a Mastercard debit card and then used to make purchases. No bank account is necessary for the system to function. Cash can be withdrawn from the card at Walmart stores.
“Sixty-one per cent of the population of Mexico are unbanked,” says Antonio Flores Aldama of Sr. Pago, “with their payment and spending transactions restricted to cash.”
Among them are middle-class professionals, entrepreneurs and small businesses, most of whom already have smartphones, said Flores Aldama.
The system is simple to set up. Users are required to take a picture of government ID and a bill to verify their address as part of a five-minute registration process that will have them up and running within a day.
The system sells for $50 and Sr. Pago charges 3.59% on each card swipe, and a $1 fee for transfers.
The firm was founded in 2010 and has more than 3,000 customers who do $700,000 in monthly transactions. Based in Mexico City, it has a staff of 25.
Source: Digital Journal (eng), TechCrunch (eng)
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