Checkbook Disrupts Fintech Industry with Digital Checks

The Wagoner Firm Client Spotlight: Checkbook.io

Whirlpool. DHL. Lularoe. Checkbook has helped grow some of the biggest names in technology. Founder and CEO PJ Gupta says The Wagoner Firm has played a critical role in the company’s success.

“Time is valuable when you’re building a high growth company,” said Gupta. “We first met Matt (Wagoner) through common connections, and we chose to work with The Wagoner Firm because the team is responsive, to-the-point and crisp. Having this kind of partnership has been invaluable.”

Gupta and his team are a passionate network of developers and payment experts attacking a big space. Checkbook is solving a major problem in payments: Paper Checks. They’ve built a way for individuals and businesses to send and receive Digital Checks with a few simple clicks.

“17.2 billion Paper Checks sent in the United States alone in 2015″
– Federal Reserve Payments Student, 2016

Checkbook is a secure payment solution that is changing digital transactions, providing businesses and consumers with an easier and more secure way to make mobile and online payments. “Paper Checks have been around forever, and they’re very inefficient,” added Gupta. “Our process takes less than 60 seconds to set up. Checks are digitally deposited into banking accounts, instantly.”

Checkbook.io
Launched March 2016
Sunnyvale, California

“The Wagoner Firm helped with recovery when one of our processors fraudulently held funds. Through mitigation, we were able to resolve the problem without litigation.”

PJ Gupta, Founder & CEO, Checkbook

Since launching in March 2016, Checkbook has experienced several major milestones, such as integrating with Quickbooks and Salesforce. Gupta says Checkbook will soon be launching with Zero and other accounting systems.

“On the client side, we’ve worked with Whirlpool on a class action lawsuit, and helped disburse the distribution,” said Gupta. “We’re doing a bunch of these larger transactions, especially for e-commerce companies, to help them avoid Class Action with potentially millions of plaintiffs.”

Identifying Problems, Creating Solutions

Checkbook Founder and CEO PJ Gupta is a serial tech entrepreneur and former Chief Architect for Visa. Gupta says the idea for Checkbook came from his experience at Visa in trying to simplify payments, in combination with solving a personal problem – the inconvenience of writing paper checks.

Gupta left Visa because he saw how inefficient payments were in the network, and says the solution requires simplification and a closer look at the intersection of lost checks. “Paper Checks transferred more than five times the total amount of money than Visa or MasterCard combined. This is a large market,” he added.

Data breaches, unsecure fund transfers and privacy control are the top issues plaguing payment systems. Checkbook has alleviated those issues, by giving consumers a simple and secure way to transfer funds. There’s no signup required, and no app to download. Simply verify your bank account and you’re ready to start sending Digital Checks, either from the Checkbook website or a smartphone or tablet. Instead of using easily-compromised Credit / Debit Card data, consumers can pay safely online with Digital Checks.

For small businesses Checkbook has a plug-in for Quickbooks and various other Accounting Systems. In fact, The Wagoner Firm uses Checkbook and encourages clients to utilize it as well to save money on large wire fees and mounting credit card processing fees. “Checkbook has saved our firm a lot of money, and it’s very easy to deploy,” said Matt Wagoner, owner and managing partner at The Wagoner Firm.  

PJ Gupta – Welcome to the Hustle

Starting a company is always a challenge. The hours can be crazy, your family may think you’re insane, and there’s always more to do. Here are two pieces of entrepreneurial advice from PJ Gupta:

1. Surround yourself with smart people
2. Be strategic about maximizing your time

“I carpool or use ridesharing whenever I can so I can work during the commute, and offset the costs from loaning my own car out to share-car sites. We also do playdates with friends and family. This gives me some time over the weekend to work on my venture,” said Gupta.

Checkbook is preparing to open a Series A round, aiming to raise $10 million.

Investors will join Tim Draper, AngelList Founders Fund, the cofounder of Intuit and others (including multiple Checkbook customers) who have already invested in the seed round.

Learn more -> Angel List : Checkbook