Leading daily deals company Groupon has acquired Kima Labs, the firm behind an app called TapBuy which enables users to make payments via their mobile handset. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed according to Techcrunch which first reported the story.  TapBuy is an iPhone app that stores a user’s card details so they can place an order simply by touching the TapBuy button on their handset and then confirming their PIN. The app was launched in November 2011 and is currently in beta. Its attraction is that users only have to enter their card details the first time they make a purchase. The app scans their card using the iPhone’s camera and keeps their details. Kima Labs also offers Barcode Hero, a barcode-reading app. Both apps will no longer be offered publicly although the timescale for TapBuy’s removal has not been announced. Barcode Hero is being withdrawn immediately.

News of the Kima Labs deal follows immediately after Groupon’s acquisition of location-based technology firm Hyperpublic for an undisclosed sum.  Hypberpublic provides technology to websites so that users can share their location with friends.  Along with the Kima Labs deal, it’s further evidence of Groupon’s increasing interest in mobile technology.   In January this year Groupon announced a strategic relationship with Deutsche Telekom to deliver its daily deals to smartphones in European markets where the operator has a presence.