Ezetap Mobile Solutions offers a mobile card reader with an app and third party integration for developers to create additional services.

Although the tech is nothing new, the 18-month-old Bangalore-based start-up has focused on developing markets and currently operates in Kenya and India. All of its hardware and software has been designed and developed in its home country.

The first round of VC funding was led by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. He was joined by Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, the ‘homeless billionaire’ Nicolas Berggruen and David Sacks, founder of Yammer. Indian start-up incubator AngelPrime, Ezetaps first investor, also participated.

“Mobile devices as a point-of-sale will not just transform payments in emerging markets, but also have a tremendous social impact in the process,” Palihapitiya, now managing partner of Social +Capital, told the Indian Economic Times.

Abhijit Bose, CEO and co-founder of Ezetap, said: “Their investment in Ezetap provides credibility and trust with partners and customers.”

According to Ernst & Young, 2011 saw 145 early-stage deals in India, worth $1.2bn. This year has already welcomed 110 transactions totalling $700 million.

“The ecosystem is maturing sooner than it was expected” said S Sadagopan, founder and director of the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore.