Zipmark, a US-based mobile and online payments company, has launched a developer program and API to provide business and app developers with access to its payment system for online and mobile transactions, online media outlet techcrunch.com reports.

Users connect their checking accounts to the service, which they can then use to pay bills and invoices or send money to friends. The Zipmark service works over the existing cheque processing infrastructure so that Zipmark doesn’t hold onto the funds in the cloud for an extended period of time while the transactions are verified. Merchants will also be able to provide Zipmark as a payment option by placing a QR code on their invoices, which customers can then scan and pay, the source explains.

In December 2011, Zipmark secured USD 2 million in Series Seed funding led by Village Ventures and Contour Venture Partners and supported by NYC Seed, High Peaks Venture Capital and the New York City Investment Fund.