iZettle Raises $31 Million to Turn iPhones into Credit Card Terminals

Stockholm-based iZettle, which turns an iPhone or iPad into a credit card terminal using a mini chip-card reader and app, has raised 25-million euro ($31.4 million) in VC funding. The service is available Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway, and is now being tested for commercial release in the U.K.

iZettle's chip and signature solution is targeted toward small-business owners and individual service providers, and the company said it has helped increase the number of point of sale (POS) credit card terminals in the Nordics by 10 percent since the company began operations.

iZettle takes just minutes to set up and has no monthly fee. For each transaction using iZettle in Sweden, for example, users are charged 2.75% for MasterCard, Visa and Diners Club card payments, and 3.75% of American Express payments. iZettle is EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) approved, and compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS).

Greylock Partners and Northzone led the investment round in which MasterCard, SEB Private Equity and Series A investors Index Ventures and Creandum also participated.

Greylock partner Laurel Bowden, who is joining iZettle's board of directors, said, "iZettle is the first and only company to develop an affordable chip-card reader and app for smartphone-based mobile commerce that meets all of the rigorous international security requirements. They've proved they're ready to step up their game in this very complex and competitive industry."

The Series B funds will be used to introduce iZettle in additional European markets and elsewhere around the world where chip-cards are the standard.