Omnyway pulls in $12.75 million, eyes global growth

Omnyway has raised $12.75 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Nyca, CommerzVentures, the venture arm of Commerzbank Group of Germany, and CEFIF, the CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund, a part of CreditEase of China, with participation from the likes of Commerce Ventures and Industry Ventures.

The company, which earlier this year changed its name from OmnyPay, says that it will use the cash to grow its operations, launch new services on its contextual commerce platform and expand its customer base in the US and worldwide. Its platform helps retailers stay connected to consumers through their mobile phones during the shopping process, via loyalty programmes, coupons, mobile payments etc. "To keep up in this fast-moving, mobile-first (and soon, mobile-only) world, retailers need tools that speak to how people want to shop and engage today," says Omnyway CEO, Ashok Narasimhan. "This investment puts us in a great position to build on growth and continue innovating on today's fundamentally different retail experience."

Omnyway also claims strong interest in its newly launched Zapbuy service for retailers, brands and financial institutions. This allows consumers to instantly buy items directly from ads. "Every single retailer is seeking ways to make customer experiences seamless, customised, and integrated in-store and across channels," says Hans Morris, Managing Partner at Nyca. "This has turned out to be expensive and difficult, and the flexibility, security, scalability - and speed to market -  of the Omnyway platform is a compelling solution."