European version of Square launches With $20M+ In Backing

SumUp, a Berlin-based card payments service, is opening businesses in U.K., Germany, Ireland, and Austria, according to TechCrunch. With up to $20 million in backing from partners like Shortcut Venture, Tengelmann Ventures, and Klaus Hommels, SumUp is poised to penetrate the European market alongside competitors such as iZettle and mPowa, according to the news source. Similar to Square, SumUp works by way of a dongle that connects to a smartphone and accepts card payments. Currently, SumUp is targeting merchants who do not have the facility to accept card payments to gain competitive advantage. However, its future success banks on the growth of smartphones and a wide acceptance of mobile-based payments by merchants across Europe.