Bitcoin NFC Payment App Plutus Raises $1 Million in Funding

The Bitcoin Tap & Pay application Plutus has just announced that it has finished its crowdfund, raising $1 million USD in just nine days. With these funds, the startup plans to complete its Bitcoin NFC payment app.

Also read: A Pre-Launch Review of BitHappy, The Bitcoin Browser

Expectations Exceeded, NFC App Coming Soon

The contactless (NFC) payment firm Plutus wants to make it’s easier to spend bitcoin. The point-of-sale (POS) platform allows customers to pay for products similar to Apple Pay. However, the difference is users can use Bitcoin and Ethereum for transactions that are settled via Ethereum smart contracts.

Plutus announced:

Plutus Raised Over $1m in 9 Days —The results are above expectations which will enable us to complete our platform and make Plutus Tap & Pay a reality. Our vision is to make Plutus the most practical way to pay with Bitcoin and Ethereum — simply hold your phone above any merchant’s NFC reader to complete your purchase. It really couldn’t be any easier. Don’t wait years for shops and businesses to accept bitcoin, use Plutus Tap & Pay instead!

Additionally, the company is also creating a rewards system for those making “any in‐store purchases.” The startup’s native token for the cash-back points is called “Plutons,” and can be used like any other cryptocurrency, except that Plutons reportedly offer the advantage of zero-fee transactions.

Moreover, Plutus will leverage liquidity by providing a peer‐to‐peer trading network called the PlutusDEX. The platform is an autonomous gateway application (dApp) distributed on top of the Ethereum blockchain.

Plutus has been developing its architecture since 2014, noting that NFC technology use has since almost doubled and is expected to reach 1 billion users in 2016. Thus, the firm believes that bringing Bitcoin to the world of contactless payments is the next logical step.

“Plutus is first and foremost intended to be a practical application for Bitcoin users,” the company explains. “Plutus is tailored for the growing number of remote employees and freelancers around the world who are rapidly adopting digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum due to its convenience, speed, and low transfer fees. Because of the ability to walk into any store and pay with Bitcoin, we believe that Plutus is the most practical app for anyone who earns in digital currencies, and has the potential to drive adoption through referrals.”

Plutus adds that “for every Bitcoin conversion you make on the app, you will receive a rebate in Plutons. This starts at 3% and will reduce as the network grows, to a minimum of 0.01%.”

The UK-based startup says it is a challenge to provide a frictionless financial application that does not hold user funds and still works as a contactless payment mechanism. The methods used by developers make Plutus a potential gateway between cryptocurrency platforms and traditional financial networks.

The Contactless BTC Payments Race

Plutus isn’t the only company bridging contactless payments with cryptocurrency. For example, there’s an Android application offering Bitcoin payments as well as a location browser called BitHappy. Then there’s another Android platform providing Bitcoin and NFC technology called Shake, which has similar features to Plutus.

The team behind Plutus says the system will offer cryptographically secure payments that are effortless, and no one has to be tech-savvy to use the application. Following the new $1 million in funding, the startup should be able to complete its application, and become the first to unleash NFC-based Bitcoin payments in the near future.

What do you think about the Plutus contactless payment application? When it is launched would you use it? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Plutus and Pixabay.