Quick Pitch: Cimbal is an electronic payment network using software-based contact-free communication technology to turn a smartphone into a payment tool in-store, online and person-to-person.
Genius Idea: Thanks to a slew of startups pushing the mobile payment space forward, mobile phones are fast-becoming an acceptable form of payment tender and are serving as convenient replacements for credit card terminals.
Square helps merchants and consumers accept credit card payments via mobile devices, PayPal's Mobile Checkout Express powers Starbucks' QR code mobile payment pilot program and Venmo enables friends to exchange funds via iPhone or SMS.
Newly launched startup Cimbal seeks to be the best of a bunch by satisfying all the aforementioned purposes with a consumer- and merchant-friendly software-only approach to mobile payments.
Cimbal produces a unique two dimensional barcode for each transaction. The payee can initiate payment from a mobile device by scanning the code via the Cimbal app. Codes are scannable on the web, in stores, on print materials (like invoices) and on other mobile devices.
Merchants can integrate these codes into their point-of-sale software to accept mobile payments via iPhone or Android -- no hardware required. There's also no license fee for merchants, but they do pay per transaction at rates that vary based on the volume of transactions.
Consumers can use the mobile apps to pay for retail goods, or exchange funds with friends instantaneously. Cimbal users will, for the time being, find the most value in the person-to-person payment options. Should you wish to collect on an IOU (and your Cimbal account has been authenticated), you can use the mobile app to request payment. Cimbal will generate an invoice with the code to send via e-mail.
There's also a proximity payment option for users wishing to exchange funds with friends in the same place at the same time. The seller will request payment and Cimbal will generate the code as usual, but the payee can simply scan the code from the seller's mobile phone to initiate payment.
One way Cimbal stands out is in its ability to speedily authorize payments and settle transactions in real time. What this means is that merchants or consumers who accept a mobile payment via Cimbal will find those funds deposited into their accounts instantly.
CEO Christopher Boone tells Mashable that the startup is currently working with department stores and grocery retailers and could make Cimbal's mobile payment solution available at these merchants as soon as Q4 of 2010.
Cimbal is operating on an undisclosed amount of angel funding and is currently pursuing a substantial Series A round with interested investors, says Boone. Because Cimbal only works if both parties in the payment exchange use the service, it faces the same challenges as Venmo around user adoption.
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark