Ezetap, the Bangalore-based mobile payment service provider, has acquired Clinknow, a Hyderabad-based startup which helps retailers target customers according to the buying pattern.
Clinknow analyses transaction data and builds predictive model to target customers according to shopping history. The acquisition will enable Ezetap to guide retailers create new offers by following information provided by them. Clinknow will help target and acquire customers, using shopper graphic filters, spending behaviour, locations and demographics.
According to the company's website it has worked with over 700 retailers. Clinknow was founded by BITS Pilani alumni Abhishek Nayak and Arpit Mohan. According to VCCircle, this company is their second venture, as prior to this they had co-founded Gharpay Technology Service Private Ltd. in 2011, which collects payments from e-commerce firms.
''Small and medium merchants who have not access to state of art loyalty solutions until now will see increased footfalls and customer satisfaction. The integration of loyalty and offers is a natural extension of the point of sale,'' Abhijit Bose, Ezetap CEO, told The Economic Times.
In March 2014, Ezetap received funds from American Express, to accelerate its global growth across Asia and Africa. The funding came one month after the company received $8 million in Series B round of funding led by Helion Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors The Social+Capital Partnership and New York-based Berggruen Holdings.
Ezetap, founded in 2011 by Bose and Bhaktha Keshavachar, currently serves companies in e-commerce, payments, collections, insurance and other sectors of financial inclusion.
The Ezetap card reader device turns a smartphone into an intelligent Point of Sale (POS), which can read all cards for online transactions. The Ezetap card reader can be connected to any smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, USB or audio jack. A customer has to pay a fixed monthly fee to avail unlimited transaction benefits.
AngelPrime launched Ezetap's mobile POS solution in 2012, priced $50. In an interview with ProductNation, AngelPrime stated that they develop the hardware in India, instead of the usual approach of going to China.
