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Zipmark provides a digital payment platform for businesses, centered on a digital checkbook system that facilitates secure, direct electronic payments. This Software-as-a-Service application modernizes traditional paper check processes, enabling streamlined bill payments and digital paychecks through internet and mobile channels. The platform aims to reduce the friction and costs associated with conventional payment methods.
Founded in March 2010 by Jake Howerton and Jay Bhattacharya, Zipmark was conceived from the insight that paper checks created significant inefficiencies for businesses. The co-founders aimed to develop a secure, online alternative, simplifying account reconciliation and payment management through digital innovation. Their background in financial technology informed the development of a robust and user-friendly system.
Zipmark serves businesses seeking to optimize payment workflows by transitioning from paper to digital solutions. Its vision is to transform commercial disbursements and collections, building a faster, more secure, and fully digital ecosystem for business-to-business payments. The company aspires to make the digital check experience as seamless and reliable as other modern financial instruments.
Zipmark has raised $3.5M across 2 funding rounds.
Zipmark has raised $3.5M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Zipmark is a fintech company founded in 2010 that builds a payments platform enabling businesses to send and receive 100% digital checks via web, mobile, and APIs, serving online marketplaces, lenders, and affiliate programs with high-volume disbursement needs.[1][2][4][6] It solves key problems like high fraud costs, administrative overhead, and technical development by offering a white-labeled, low-cost (1% surcharge) alternative to credit/debit cards, including QR code payments from invoices via its iPhone app.[1][2][4] With $6.1 million in funding and $4 million in 2024 revenue, the New York-based firm (now operating as OpenTransact) targets B2B payments, remittances, and check processing, though it maintains a minimal team of about 2 employees.[1][3]
Zipmark was co-founded in 2010 by Jay Bhattacharya and Jake Howerton in New York City.[1][4][6] Bhattacharya, a Citigroup veteran of 7 years focused on emerging payments like mobile, NFC, and smartcards, previously co-founded Mobile Money Ventures (acquired by Intuit).[4] Howerton, the CTO, was a tech entrepreneur and former CTO of Sunshine Suites, Inc., Inc. Magazine's 15th fastest-growing real estate company in 2009; he also contributed to the OpenTransact standard for secure transactions without exposing credentials.[4][6] The idea emerged to modernize checkbooks into a "21st-century digital checkbook," leveraging existing check processing infrastructure for direct bank account payments.[2][6] Early traction included a $2 million funding round in late 2011, a developer platform launch in 2012 covered by TechCrunch and GigaOm, and recognition as a top Silicon Alley tech company by IBTimes; the firm planned an iPhone app release at South by Southwest.[2][6]
Zipmark rides the early 2010s fintech wave toward digital disbursements and ACH modernization, addressing inefficiencies in check processing amid rising mobile payments and marketplace economies (e.g., lenders, affiliates).[1][2][6] Timing aligned with post-financial crisis demand for low-cost, secure alternatives to cards, especially for B2B and remittances, as NAICS 522320 firms sought scalable APIs.[1] Market forces like fraud proliferation and dev resource constraints favored its model, influencing ecosystems by enabling marketplaces to handle payouts natively and contributing to open payment standards like OpenTransact.[3][4] As a Founder Institute grad, it boosted New York/Silicon Alley's startup scene with developer tools.[2]
Zipmark's pivot to OpenTransact signals adaptation to open banking trends, positioning it for growth in API-first fintech amid rising demand for embedded payments.[3] Next steps likely involve expanding B2B disbursement APIs, leveraging AWS/Cloudflare stacks for scale, and targeting underserved niches like collectibles or subscriptions.[1][5] Trends like real-time payments and regulatory pushes for digital remittances will shape its path, potentially amplifying influence if it rebuilds team/momentum beyond its current lean state—echoing its origins as a checkbook disruptor now ripe for broader fintech integration.[1][3]
Zipmark has raised $3.5M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Zipmark's investors include Don Layden, Contour Venture Partners, High Peaks Venture Capital, NYC Seed, Partnership Fund for New York City, Village Ventures, Angelic Ventures, Idealab, Rapoport Investments, Scout Ventures, Social Capital, Social Starts.
Zipmark has raised $3.5M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $1.5M Other Equity in August 2013.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2013 | $1.5M Venture Round | — | DON Layden, Contour Venture Partners, High Peaks Venture Capital, NYC Seed, Partnership Fund For NEW York City, Village Ventures | Announced |
| Dec 1, 2011 | $2M Seed | Contour Venture Partners, Village Ventures | Angelic Ventures, Idealab, Rapoport Investments, Scout Ventures, Social Capital, Social Starts, Teamworthy Ventures, Matthew Daimler, TIM Csontos, High Peaks Venture Capital, NYC Seed, Partnership Fund For NEW York City | Announced |
