Odds are you’re familiar with the way new mobile payments processor SumUp operates. The company provides users with a free dongle that attaches to a smartphone or tablet, which is then used in conjunction with an app to process payments. SumUp makes a profit by charging a 2.75 percent transaction fee whenever a merchant uses its reader.
Yes, this is how Square, PayPal, Intuit and other mobile POS device services work. But what differentiates SumUp from the others?
Petter Made, SumUp’s co-founder and chief operating officer, gave PYMNTS.com a simple answer – the European market in which they operate.
SumUp’s plan is to do for European SMBs what Square and the rest have done for smaller merchants in the U.S. On August 23, the start-up launched in the U.K., Germany, Ireland and Austria, and Made says they plan to grow from there.
“We’re addressing the larger English and German-speaking markets of Europe first to gain traction,” says Made. “Obviously these large companies, especially in the case of PayPal and Intuit, want to address global audiences, but up to this point they’re not providing service in the European market.”
While some major POS players have yet to cross the Atlantic, Made admits that SumUp has some continental competition – most notably from iZettle in Scandinavia. Still, Made suggests that with over 500 million people in the European market, there are abundant opportunities for any payments processor who can deliver on the mobile POS promise.
“There are a lot of ideas on how the market can evolve into the future,” Made says, “but if we can solve the problem of actually accepting payments, we’re off to a good start.”
To hear more of Made’s take on the European SMB market, SumUp’s pricing strategy, and the future of POS devices, listen to the full interview.
Petter Made
Co-Founder & COO, Sumup
Petter Made is a co-founder of SumUp, the easiest way for sole traders and small businesses to accept debit and credit card payments securely, even on-the-go. The company was founded in 2011 and currently has over 100 employees with major offices in Berlin, Dublin and London; SumUp has been available in Germany, the UK, Ireland and Austria since August 2012.
Petter has over 10 years of experience in the online payments field with companies including Netgiro Systems AB, later acquired by Digital River Inc. He studied at the Stockholm School of Economics and the Stockholm School of Business where he holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration.
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