SimplyTapp, the US firm that claims to have invented host card emulation (HCE), has raised an unspecified sum in its Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners along with existing backer Blue Sky Capital.

HCE technology has received a major boost because of its recent inclusion by Google in the latest version of the Android OS. SimplyTapp claims to have implemented the first platform that leverages HCE for mobile payments.

SimplyTapp said HCE can bypass a mobile operator’s SIM to complete a mobile payment at the point-of-sale terminal.

“Lightspeed gives us the backing we need to grow the company at just the right time,” said Doug Yeager, CEO of SimplyTapp.

One of the main advantages of its platform is the ability to leverage existing POS hardware infrastructure without requiring merchant adaptation.

The platform is open to developers and card issuers, said SimplyTapp. It allows for innovation in mainstream card issuance to go beyond PayPal and Stripe, claimed the company.

SimplyTapp offers APIs to encourage the take-up of HCE in their apps. Currently, it has over 100 developers using its SDK tools and has partnered and deployed with an unnamed global bank, thought to be Royal Bank of Canada.