Payment Solutions Startups ToneTag Raises Funding from Arun Seth, T.V. Mohandas Pai, Others

ToneTag, a sound-based proximity payment company, is pleased to announce a round of strategic funding, which brings on board, a group of technology evangelists and digital payment crusaders.

Arun Seth is a trustee of the NASSCOM foundation, independent Board member at Narayan Hrudalaya, independent director, Jubilant Food Works, advisory board member at The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) and governing board member of HelpAge India. Mr. Seth has also served as Chairman, Alcatel-Lucent India ltd and Chairman at BT (India) Private Limited.

T.V. Mohandas Pai is the Chairman of Manipal Global Education. He used to be a Member of the board of directors of Infosys, and Head – Administration, Education and Research, Financial, Human Resources, and Infosys Leadership Institute.

Anand Chandrasekaran was the Chief Product Officer of Snapdeal, one of India's pre-eminent Internet companies as well as Chief Product Officer of Bharti Airtel, the third largest mobile operator in the world.

Deepak Ghaisas is the chairman of Gencoval Strategic Services Pvt Ltd. Previously he was the CEO - India Operations and CFO of I-flex Solutions Ltd., India.

T K Kurien is the Executive Vice Chairman, Wipro Limited. TK is also a member of the Wipro Corporate Executive Council.

ToneTag is a sound based proximity communication provider that enables contactless proximity payments, proximity communication, location based services and customer engagement services among a multitude of other solutions. It is a product first company that started off to promote financial inclusion through accessible solutions that bridge the last mile in digital payments. By working closely with banks, retailers, payment providers and other stakeholders in the commerce and payment ecosystem, the company is solving real problems that are affecting various industries.

This announcement has been welcomed by Kumar Abhishek, Founder & CEO, ToneTag who said, "ToneTag is creating a payment ecosystem for the country that is completely digital, free from the clutches of cash. It enables an inclusive financial environment for the masses. ToneTag with its unique experience, a range of use cases and a strong partner network is striving to push India into a brighter digital era. Mohandas Pai, Arun, Deepak, Anand and T K have transformed several businesses with their proficiency and experience. Their association with ToneTag, brings valuable know-how and will be an asset to the core team. Their individual and collaborative expertise will be instrumental in defining innovative solutions for our technology and give consumers access to many unique digital experiences, through various channels, that were previously not feasible.”

Pranav Pai, on behalf of Mohandas Pai via 3one4 Capital, had this to say, "The ToneTag team have combined their deep insights of the financial and banking systems in India with core technology innovations to solve a long-standing challenge through a disruptive yet simple set of modalities. With the radical economic reforms that are being rolled out, technology like ToneTag's will be a natural enabler of India's shift into a new information infrastructure. By accounting for multiple channels of contactless proximity payments, including environments where data connections are unavailable, ToneTag is truly optimizing for simplicity and designing for a seamless and delightful experience with every transaction. The team is also hyper-aware of the balance to be preserved between issuers and merchants, and has converged upon an inter-operable and platform-agnostic solution. We are tremendously excited by the possibilities of the ToneTag tech stack, and we are looking forward to working with them to scale this vital value proposition."

Arun Seth had this to say about ToneTag, "Yesterday's announcement on large currency notes is another indicator of the government’s drive towards a cashless economy. ToneTag is right at the centre of this change, as it helps customers make contactless payments, that are easier, faster and more secure than paying by cash or cards.

ToneTag technology plays to the natural power of the phone to generate and receive audio signals. As a result, ToneTag payments can be made on smart phones as well as feature phones, the latter being critical for financial inclusion. Also, ToneTag does not need NFC compatible hardware or QR codes to be scanned. ToneTag is fully compatible with existing financial infrastructure like credit card machines and ATM's so it has universal use and will help drive India to a cashless and cardless economy"

ToneTag has partnered with major players in the areas of mobile wallets and banking to enable contactless digital transactions on mobile phones, card swiping machines, ATMs and all other acceptance enabling devices. It is completely hardware and platform independent and works via the transmission of sound waves, alone. It requires no special hardware to be deployed.