The ‘MayDay’ Button for Banking Has Arrived
Not long ago the fintech community looked longingly at Amazon’s “MayDay” button on the latest Kindle Fire tablet and wondered, Why can’t my bank offer live support like that?
It turns out they can. A company called ShowKit offers a software development kit for mobile devices that allows developers to build in a MayDay button that enables audio and video conferencing and screen-sharing.
Requests to join the company’s private beta can be submitted here.
ShowKit actually boasts more features than Amazon MayDay, according to the company’s site. (See the graph at left for ShowKit’s comparison.) The company also employs a strategy that worked well for Stripe, describing its product as being “by developers for developers.”
Pricing information is understandably being kept under wraps for the time being, but the company does say the following:
While ShowKit continues to run its private beta, all calls are free for invited users. After the beta period, those who are part of the beta will receive 10,000 minutes per month for free. For non-beta and enterprise clients, please contact our sales team for additional pricing information.
ShowKit was founded in 2012 and has received about $710,000 in seed money to date. The company is based in West Hollywood, Calif.
Learn more about what’s next in banking at Bank Innovation 2014 on March 3-4 in Seattle. Request an invitation here.
