Latest way to pay
ABQ firm’s system just takes two clicks on an email
An Albuquerque startup could make a huge splash with a new, online payment system that allows consumers to buy things with two clicks on an email.
The company, which publicly launched the system on Thursday for email marketers and retailers to plug into, says the technology is a first for online payment processing, which typically routes customers to websites to fill out forms, enter credit cards and create passwords.
With the @Pay (pronounced “AtPay”) system, a consumer simply clicks once on an email sent by a marketer to order a product or service, and then once more to confirm payment, said @Pay President and CEO John Killoran.
“Rather than Web checkouts, we’ve invented email checkouts,” Killoran said. “You just click and you’re done.”
The company’s first public Application Programming Interface went live on Thursday, giving businesses the ability to seamlessly integrate the email checkout process into their own online systems. @Pay hosted an online “Google+Hangout” demonstration to introduce it to potential customers.
“The beauty of two-click checkout is it dramatically changes the way a company can do business, without the need to implement any changes to their corporate structure,” said @ Pay Vice President for Operations and Strategy Scott Maloney.
The company, which began developing its tech in December 2010, already has nearly three dozen paying customers, mostly nonprofits that have used the system for email fundraising. Clients have included Roadrunner Food Bank, UNM Athletic Department Lobo Club, and Albuquerque Rescue Mission.
But @Pay developed its new programming interface plug-in for commercial customers after signing up the company’s first corporate account in February with Derby Jackpot, an online horse-betting business that operates in 37 states. Derby Jackpot has integrated @Pay’s system into its marketing, which includes about 250,000 emails to customers a week, said Jeffery Hokanson, @Pay’s Derby Jackpot account manager. @Pay earns a percent of each transaction.
“We have a 25 percent share now of the daily transactions processed by Derby Jack,” Hokanson said. “They’ve got a marketing blitz under way with the Kentucky Derby, and we expect to get a big bump from that.”
@Pay believes its system will be particularly attractive to email marketing companies, given the rapid expansion of email traffic on smartphones, Killoran said. Email marketers — an estimated $68 billion industry worldwide — face major challenges to get consumers to purchase things through smartphones because they’re difficult when processing website payment checkouts.
@Pay already raised $3.5 million from private investors. It’s now raising another $3 million to finance company expansion.
The firm employs 30 people at a 3,000-square-foot office in the Northeast Heights. It will hire another 20 people this year.