iZettle Expands Its European Footprint

iZettle has landed in Italy.

The Sweden-based mobile payment firm announced yesterday (Nov. 3) that it has opened the doors to small businesses in Italy, which marks its 12th market in the world. Its other markets include: the U.K., Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Finland, Mexico and Brazil.

Now, with its move into the Italian economy, iZettle looks to make its mark in Italy’s SMB market, which is a staple of the country. iZettle will enable these SMBs to accept card payments using its two core products: iZettle Lite and iZettle Pro Contactless.

iZettle Lite is a free device which connects via cable to smartphone and tablet. iZettle Pro Contactless connects via wireless and Bluetooth, and accepts payments from contactless cards and Apple Pay.

 “Already present in 11 countries in Europe and Latin America, our goal is to become the undisputed leader of mobile payment in Italy,” said Jacob de Geer, co-founder and CEO of iZettle.

“Despite a record increase of 55 percent in the mobile industry, today most small-medium entrepreneurs do not use payment devices because they are too expensive and binding. iZettle offers an easy and inexpensive way to increase their business by facilitating card payments.”

Outside of its mobile commerce focus through its devices and apps that turn mobile phones and tablets into payment terminals, iZettle provides alternative financing through its iZettle Advance program – which offers SMBs a fixed fee based on individually established criteria.

iZettle Advance is designed to streamline the financing process for users, who come to the platform essentially pre-assessed. After an evaluation process — which is based on a number of factors, including revenue, time in business, credit scoring and a host of other factors — businesses that receive approval are advanced capital within a few days. Those funds are then deducted automatically from card payments iZettle processes.

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