Two Tap has released an automated checkout service that is designed to enable consumers to make purchases within apps and without leaving websites.

The San Francisco-based startup, which has raised $2.7 million in seed funding, sees a host of applications of its service.  A consumer navigating a price comparison app, for example, would be able to purchase a product from within the app with just a few clicks and a confirmation code. Reduced friction for users is a powerful incentive to retailers, but so is the simplicity and control the service provides.

Two Tap uses a “pass through model,” which means that retailers still process their own payments and keep all their sales data while gaining access to consumers via integration with websites and apps, according to Two Tap founders Razvan Roman and Radu Spineau. Retailers “don’t need to do anything specific to integrate [Two Tap] technology.”

Two Tap 2.0 users only need to enter personal information once, and every purchase thereafter is automated. Instead of a password, Two Tap 2.0 uses email and phone authorization. Customers receive an email confirmation.

All Two Tap captures is users’ shipping and billing information. Roman and Spineau stressed that Two Tap 2.0 differs from existing  payment services like Paypal by seamlessly integrating with the website or app instead of  redirecting the user to a payment service. Unlike credit card providers, Two Tap collects no payment processing fee from the merchants. There is also no charge to merchants for the service.

More than 200 retailers are available via Two Tap and the company has experienced a “nearly 5,000 percent increase in monthly transactions,” the founders said. They said they’re confident their API will enable them to scale “to thousands of merchants.”

Regarding security, Roman and Spineau explained that since Two Tap is not a payment processor, “no human touches that data. When an order goes through, it is subjected to the fraud systems in place on the merchant website.”

At the moment, Two Tap’s API only includes standard shipping options. Two Tap plans to expand beyond smartphones, tablets, and desktops to gaming consoles and the burgeoning field of wearable technology.

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