Two Tap raises $2.7M to push its universal shopping cart

Two Tap wants to be a quick and easy shopping cart for e-commerce sites, and it just raised $2.7 million.

More wallet than check-out processor, Two Tap purports to complete purchases for registered users with just two taps (or clicks) on web browsers and mobile. Users can register independently with the service. As a user, you do all the things you normally do when checking out (write in your email address, your credit card information, billing, shipping address), and Two Tap will store that information for future use.

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The next time you’re browsing a site or mobile app and click on the item you want to buy, Two Tap pops up. It asks for your email, notes you’re a registered user and then sends an access code to your account via SMS. This is something Two Tap does in lieu of a password. Each code is randomly generated and only sent to your phone. This seems like a huge security gap. All a thief would have to do is get hold of a phone and they could go on a mobile shopping spree.

Except there’s one more security precaution. Two Tap does not store your CVV code — that little three digit number on the back of your credit card. Every time you check out, you will have to enter your CVV. So the process is not exactly “two taps.”

Two Tap has other issues too. The service automatically signs you up for normal 3-5 day shipping. You can’t get overnight or other options that will ship your item more immediately.

Still, in terms of trying to address the mobile checkout, which has a huge abandonment problem, Two Taps is doing pretty well.

So far, 215 e-commerce sites support Two Tap, up from 100 in February. They range from high-end fashion sites like Net-a-Porter to video game purveyor GameStop. Two Tap may be more alluring for businesses. Integrating with Two Tap is free, and, according to the company, Two Tap’s developers take care of the integration in a few days. “We want retailers to not have to do anything to integrate [our product],” Razvan Roman, one of the company’s founders, told me by phone.

Two Tap also doesn’t process payments, the retailer does. Two Tap just provides payment and shipping information, much like a wallet service.

The real promise of the app is its API, which developers can integrate into mobile advertising, so users can make a purchase within an app. Right now, Two Tap takes a percentage of sales from developers who use their API for in-app sales. Imagine being able to buy a new pair of shoes while perusing Instagram or playing Candy Crush. Definitely a dangerous proposition to your wallet, but a much better way to shop mobile.

Investors for this seed round include Khosla Ventures, Joseph Saunders, CEO of Visa; Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian; and Posterous co-founder Gary Tan. Transmedia Capital and Digital Garage also contributed to the round.

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