Tyfone is a relatively new startup that’s making movements in the red hot mobile payment and commerce sector, and today announced a $5M second round of funding to further its cause.
While many startups and even big-name financial companies are busy trying to compete in the emerging mobile commerce field, Tyfone stands out — at least to me — given its unique approach. The company wants to use microSD cards to NFC-enable existing devices, rather than try and bake in the necessary technology to OEM devices. Tyfone has designed the world’s first secure memory card with integrated smart card chip (secure element), an NFC chip, and a miniature antenna.
Given its unique implementation, Tyfone’s memory card can be used for industry-compliant implementations, such as Transportation systems, open-loop channels such as MasterCard’s PayPass or Visa’s payWave, or closed-loop retail applications. Tyfone’s modular platform, in conjunction with its secure memory card, allows for secure Over-The-Air (OTA) provisioning of customer information and applications.
Tyfone has created a complete end-to-end solution to not only NFC-enable any mobile device, but to also hook into existing implementations, such as the technology being deployed by Visa and MasterCard. The company has been around for six years and has already made a lot of headway in the past year, including patenting some of its technology, bringing its technology to market through a partner and signing deals with financial institutions and launching its first banking customers.
