Aberdeen investors have backed a start-up cyber security firm whose technology was developed in Scotland.
Payfont has raised more than £1.2m from private investors, in a rapid first tranche that closed yesterday.
The funding round now sees the fledgling company valued at £20m.
Aberdeen businessman Jim Cummings is one of the investors. Mr Cummings was the founder and Chairman of software company Pilgrim Systems, which was a leading player in providing software to the legal profession.
He sold Pilgrim to Thompson Reuters in 2012 in a deal said to be worth between £10million and £15million, and now invests in start-ups and second round funding opportunities.
He said: “Payfont is a ground-breaking product with independent validation. With identity theft and cybersecurity at record levels, the world needs this product, and so I was delighted to come on board as a key investor.”
The company is led by Dr David Lanc, formerly an executive director of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s CardsBusiness, and fund management industry veteran Ian Paterson Brown is its commercial director.
Mr Lanc said: “We have balanced real simplicity with incredible levels of safety for people anywhere to protect their private and personal information online.
“Our culture is Scottish. Our online security is designed by Scots based here and elsewhere, with some of the best intellects in the world. Our headquarters are in Edinburgh. It is really humbling to receive such fantastic backing and support from savvy investors from Aberdeen who know what it takes to bring innovation to market.”
Payfont is already in talks with a number of financial institutions in the UK, US and Europe, and its innovation comes at a time when there have been a number of customer information breaches at companies such as Apple and Ebay.
This round of fundraising comes after a £100,000 award from Scottish Enterprise.