One million euros for Hanko

The software is set to receive ISO certification this year. The security start-up has also brought Jan Gerle from payment service provider Payone onto the management team.

The Kiel-based start-up Hanko has once again secured funding. It was only in December that High-Tech Gründerfonds and Payone founders Carl Frederic Zitscher and Jan Kanieß invested money in the Kiel-based company. Now the Leipzig-based VC Smart Infrastructure Ventures and Intershop co-founder Roland Fassauer are investing one million euros, reports the online magazine Payment&Banking. This brings the total investment to 1.5 million euros.

Hanko wants to simplify the login process. In future, users will no longer have to use two-factor authentication to log in to websites online, but instead use Touch ID or Face ID, as is often the case on smartphones. "Our vision is to enable every online service to no longer make the security of user accounts dependent on passwords or tedious two-factor procedures," says Hanko founder Felix Magedanz to Payment&Banking. Founded in 2018, the start-up claims to provide the necessary infrastructure for website operators.

Jan Gerle, who previously worked at Frankfurt-based payment processor Payone, is also moving to Kiel to become CTO. Gerle will lead and expand the development team and further develop the technology, according to the statement.