Trustmore Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates escrow-focussed digital payments platform Escrowffrr, has raised $150,000 (about Rs 1.06 crore) from Inflection Point Ventures, a community of chief financial officers and senior professionals.
The startup said in a statement it will utilise the funds to grow its escrow business beyond real estate. Founder and CEO Ashwin Chawwla said Escrowffrr was seeking to act as a trust enabler in the digital payment ecosystem.
Escrowffrr says it allows users to set up and conduct transactions in a safe and secure manner through a digital escrow account. The company is currently focussed on the real estate sector.
“Contract enforceability is very poor in India and as a result, transactions end up in litigation. We believe a unique solution like escrow will help in solving this pain,” Chawwla said.
IPV investor Sanjay Malhotra said that Escrowffrr was helping bridge the trust gap through its transparent and digital ecosystem.
Trustmore was set up in 2014. It says Escrowffrr, currently focussed on the National Capital Region, is also planning to expand to the top seven cities in the country with a business-to-business-to-consumer strategy. The startup is also planning to integrate itself in the buyer decision journey by aligning with search and discovery platforms.
The community is a sub-initiative of CXO Genie. It was founded in 2017 by nine CFOs and finance professionals hailing from startups such as Myntra, BookMyShow and Grofers. The by-invitation-only network connects the investor community with startups. It largely makes early-stage bets and goes up to the pre-Series A levels.
Its portfolio includes Kolkata-based rural health-focussed startup iKure, Delhi-based virtual assistant provider Wishup, Noida-based sports app Sportido and Singapore-based retinal diagnostic startup Leben Care Technologies.
In October last year, co-founder Ankur Mittal told VCCircle it that had invested in 22 companies over the past 18 months. Most investments have been made in India while some have been made in Singapore, the UK and the US.
