Looks like Amazon has acquired mobile payments startup GoPago for an undisclosed sum, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
Vincenzo Di Nicola, Italian native and GoPago's cofounder and CTO, talked to La Repubblica, as first noticed by TechCrunch's Ingrid Lunden.
GoPago burst onto the scene in 2012. It lets customers order ahead, pay on their smartphone, and go to the store to pick up a purchase without having to deal with lines. It fills a similar niche as Square, the app that turns a smartphone into mobile wallet or cash register. Interestingly, GoPago was backed by JP Morgan Chase, who also invested in Square.
We've reached out to Amazon and GoPago to confirm. In the meantime, Lunden has peeled the following info from the La Republica's story:
- Google was reportedly interested in buying GoPago as well.
- Di Nicola is not joining Amazon with the acquisition.
- GoPago had 70 employees and its not clear if Amazon will be employing them or if GoPago sold only its tech to Amazon.
- Di Nicola says the GoPago tech will be at the heart of a new, “ambitious” project.
Perhaps that project is related to Amazon's new "Log in and Pay" service that lets you pay for stuff on other ecommerce sites through your Amazon account, Lunden speculates.
