Mobile payment app Momoe bags $1.2 million from IDG, Jungle and India Quotient

Bangalore-based mobile payments startup Momoe Technologies Private Limited, which operates under the brand Momoe, has raised $1.2 million in a seed round of funding led by IDG Ventures and Jungle Ventures with participation of India Quotient, a top company excutive confirmed the development.

Momoe enables merchants to present live bills to app users on their smartphones and allows users to checkout at their convenience. Momoe currently allows users to pay using credit or debit cards. and later plans to add other methods as wallets, IMPS etc. The team believes that in a couple of years people will no longer need to carry cash or plastic. Its app is available on Android and iOS platforms.

“Momoe is disrupting the payments at both merchant and consumer end by leveraging the power of smart phones, and we believe it will lead the Future of payments in India” said Mr. T C Meenakshisundaram, Managing Director, IDG Ventures India, who led operations and technology in India’s leading 3rd party payments processor before starting IDG Ventures India.

Founded in April 2014 by a group of IIT and IIM alumni including Utkarsh Biradar (IDC,IITB), Karthik Vaidyanathan (IIMA), Ganesh Balakrishnan (IITB, IIMB), Neelesh Bam (IITK, IIML) and Aiman Ashraf (Univ of Chicago), Momoe is currently operational in Bangalore with restaurants and grocery stores, and expected to reach 500 merchants in the next few months. 

Momoe will soon be expanding to other metros across India. The funding will be used for growth and expansion. he startup will soon be expanding their coverage beyond restaurants to grocery stores, apparel and other retail outlets. "A majority of the funding is to be used for consumer marketing and also towards expanding the product team," said Biradar.

The average transaction sizes on Momoe (~Rs 1500) are a case in point. Momoe makes money by getting a cut out of the transaction. For the merchants, Momoe goes beyond a transaction engine by providing them insights on consumer preferences and being able to reach out to consumers with right offers and information. Vidhatha, the owner of Prost Brewpub in Koramangala, an early adopter of Momoe at his restaurant, shared, "Customers love the convenience of viewing their live bill and splitting it with their friends. Momoe resonates with our tech savvy customers. Waiter productivity has improved significantly and partnering with Momoe for promotions has given us one of our highest billing days". 

The team is looking at many potential use cases focused on real world transactions, where the mobile phone can disrupt the payment process and convenience the user. At grocery and apparel stores, Momoe will enable queue busting. They also intend to power e-commerce, where Momoe can reduce cash handling.

Anand Lunia, Founder and Partner, India Quotient, added," The chemistry with the team was instant. This team was also one of the most complete teams one sees at early stage".

"With Asia accounting for over half of the world's mobile devices, this region is alive with growth potential for Momoe" concluded Amit Anand, Founding Partner, Jungle Ventures.

Currently, the firm has partnerships with more than 100 merchants across Bangalore. Momoe is one among several players involved in mobile payment solutions in Indian market such as Paytm, Mobikwik, iKaaz’s etc.