M-Commerce ID Management App Lands USD 4 Mln Funding
36Kr, 6/09/13
Li Yan, founder of Beijing-based third-party mobile e-commerce ID management tool "Weipass," announced recently that his company, Beijing Yimei Quanjing Information Technology, had received USD 4 mln in Series A funding from IDG at the end of 2012. Emay Softcom Technology, an m-commerce and mobile advertising platform founded by Li in 2001, was also a recipient of IDG funding.
Weipass uses dynamic QR codes for ID verification in order to prevent ID theft and copying. Verification data is transmitted from users' mobile handsets to merchants' mobile CRM systems running on Weipass's servers, but the system does not require internet connectivity: offline transactions can be completed simply by scanning a QR code. At present, Weipass offers free access to its mobile CRM platform for merchants: the company provides free Weipass "seals" and certificate generation for merchants, and charges merchants based on the number of successful certificate-based transactions.
In late May, Weipass launched an HTML5 compatible “e-passport” system on Tencent's (0700.HK) WeChat (Weixin) mobile messaging platform, with support for e-certificate sending and receiving within WeChat.
Weipass's partners include Chinese group buy site Gaopeng and Sina's (Nasdaq: SINA) WeiboPay third-party platform. Gaopeng reportedly plans to roll out Weipass terminals to its 13,000 partner businesses in first-tier cities, including nearly 5,000 food and beverage businesses.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "Mobile E-commerce ID Management App Weipass Goes Online" MD 11/26/12 issue.
Keywords: IDGVC VC Li Yan m-commerce funding verification wireless mobile advertising CRM Emay Softcom Weipass Yimei Quanjing first-round 2D barcode WeiboPay mobile application