Verizon’s Investment Arm Backs SimplyTapp

Verizon Ventures, the financial investment firm of Verizon, has taken a major investment in HCE specialist SimplyTapp.

The company announced this week that it was take a $5.9 million stake in the Austin-based SimplyTapp to help keep its presence in the mobile payment space. In its release about the investment, Verizon highlighted the benefits of HCE as it relates to the managing credential for mobile payments.

“HCE can play a significant role in credential management with payments, offering the ability to create exact virtual representations of various electronic identity cards using only software,” Verizon explained as the reason for its investment. “HCE may set the stage for a cloud-based credential management platform that could serve a host of diverse applications such as mobile payments, ticketing, and hospitality among others where any party can create a NFC credential for the mobile device.”

SimplyTapp brings its HCE technology to developers, enabling them to leverage mobile devices for proximity payments using software integration and with no dependencies on hardware.

“Through HCE, we were able to give developers access to the tools needed to create a secure, scalable mobile transaction platform that enables a truly outstanding user experience,” SimplyTapp co-founder Ted Fifelski, said in a news release.

SimplyTapp has played a role in the payment industry with its HCE and NFC payment platform, and its technology has influence in several industry segments, including: banking, retail, transit, mobile ticketing, hospitality and more.

“As we look towards the future of a connected society, we’re excited to support SimplyTapp as it expands its capabilities in allowing mobile devices to exchange sensitive data securely across both physical and virtual environments,” Vijay Doradla, Director of Verizon Ventures, wrote in a company news release.

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