// startup autopsy

Mpayy

Mobile payments pioneer acquired before the wave arrived

timingAcqui-hire

Fatal mistake: Mpayy entered the mobile payments market too early, before smartphone penetration and merchant infrastructure could support its transaction fee model at scale.

Founded	2007
Closed	2010
Country	USA
Sector	Ecommerce

50%

Key Events Timeline

2007-01-01

FOUNDING

Mpayy founded in the US with a vision to enable mobile payments for ecommerce, targeting a market not yet ready for mobile-first transactions.

2008-01-01

FUNDING

Last known funding secured in 2008, just before the financial crisis constrains further investment into early-stage fintech.

2009-03-01

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Mpayy launches updated mobile payment product targeting US online retailers, but merchant sign-up rates disappoint.

2010-06-01

SHUTDOWN

Mpayy is acquired, ending its independent operations as it runs out of runway before mobile payments reach mainstream adoption.

Full Analysis

Analyst plan

Documented cause

Mpayy was a mobile payment solution startup that emerged in the mid-2000s, targeting ecommerce merchants before mobile payments achieved mainstream adoption. The company faced insurmountable competitive challen...

ges, particularly from PayPal, which dominated the online payment processing space with established merchant relationships and market dominance. Despite initial traction, Mpayy struggled to achieve me

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HypeCycle · MoatType · ResearchTags

Mpayy collapsed from mpayy entered the mobile payments market too early, before smartphone penetration and merchant infrastructure could support its transaction fee model at scale.. Documented cause, verified lesson, all failure signals.

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