Mobile payment startup iZettle has to stop processing Visa card payments in Denmark, Finland and Norway where it currently trials its mobile card payment service. The company has released a statement on its official blog, announcing that Visa Europe is forcing iZettle to stop accepting Visa payments on August 1. iZettle will continue to accept MasterCard and AmEx in those countries.

Sweden-based iZettle provides a mobile payment service that enables merchants to accept credit card payments using an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. The company is often referred as the European version of Square. But unlike Square, iZettle reads the credit card data from the EMV-chip (the global standard for chip cards) rather than the magnetic stripe. iZettle started its mobile payment service in Sweden and is currently running an open beta in other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland and Norway) and the United Kingdom. It’s noteworthy that iZettle never supported Visa payments in the U.K.  (more…)

GlobalCollect Integrates Mobile Payment Service BOKU

GlobalCollect, a payment service provider based in the Netherlands, is integrating BOKU’s mobile payment platform, enabling online merchants to offer mobile payment as payment method. With BOKU customers can pay for online purchases by entering their mobile phone number and confirm via a SMS message. They will be billed directly via their mobile provider. The partnership shows that carrier billing has become a mainstream payment method for all kinds of digital goods and services.

iZettle Secures €25M, Eyes International Growth

iZettle has secured €25 million ($31.4 million) in a Series B round of funding. The new round was led by Greylock Partners and Northzone and joined by credit card giant MasterCard among others. According to iZettle the investment will be used to introduce iZettle’s mobile payment service in additional markets in Europe and around the world. iZettle is commercially available in northern Europe and is currently tested for release in the U.K. Read more…

Square Now Processes $6B in Payments, Surpasses 2M Users

Mobile payment company Square continues to grow: the company reported that it has now more 2 million users – only six month after it surpassed 1 million users – and is processing more than $6 billion in annual payments. Those are impressive numbers that underline how fast the mobile card payment market is growing. Read more…

Mobile point of sale solutions that allow retail merchants to accept card payments with a smartphone or tablet continue to be a hot topic. Mobile POS services make accepting card payments easier and cheaper, a big advantage especially for small and medium sized companies. See our The Fight for the Mobile Point of Sale article where we provided an introduction to the existing mobile POS services.

So far Jack Dorsey’s Square is the leader when it comes to mobile POS transaction in the U.S. But the competition is heating up. Now even big payment companies start similar services while startups launch Square-like mobile payment products all around the world.

Big payment companies take on the mobile POS market

VeriFone, one of the largest POS terminal makers, starts its own mobile POS service for small merchants called SAIL. It supports integration with traditional VeriFone point-of-sale hardware, making it possible to also accept NFC-based payments. VeriFone charges a 2.7% for swiped transaction (1.95% with a $9.95/m Pro plan).

Mobile POS outside of the United States

Unfortunately Square is only available to customers in the United States so far. Sweden-based iZettle proved that the concept can be very successful implemented in Europe and over the last weeks some interesting services launched outside the U.S.:

• Payment processor Sage Pay has started beta testing of Sage Pay Mobile in the UK. Sage Pay Mobile uses a small terminal that connectes via Bluetooth with the merchants smartphone to process card based payments.
• Another UK-based mobile payment service is Mpowa. The Square-like service will launch soon in the UK and then expand to other parts of Europe and North America.
• Streetpay by Masterpayment will be the first mobile POS service to launch in Germany. The Payment service provider plans to start the service in mid-June this year.
• It is rumored that Berlin incubator Rocket Internet will start a mobile POS service soon. The name of the project already changed from ZenPay to EvoPay and now payleven. Although the service hasn’t been launched yet merchants in Germany can already sign up to get notified when the product is released. According to their German website payleven has no monthly fees and will include a free card reader. Further details remain unclear.

The latest mobile point of sale (POS) payment solutions allow retail merchants to accept credit card or debit card payments directly via their smartphone or tablet. These services enable small business owners and individuals to process card payments without buying expensive additional hardware.

Here is how those mobile POS services work: At the time of a purchase, the customer’s credit card is swiped by a small reader that is attached to the mobile device of the merchant. The signature is collected directly on the screen of the mobile device.

There are several companies fighting for the mobile POS – most recently online payment veteran PayPal presented its own mobile POS solution PayPal Here.

The table below provides a brief overview on the existing mobile POS solutions:

PayPal has revealed its new mobile payment solution for small business PayPal Here. Just like Jack Dorsey’s Square, PayPal Here enables small merchants to accept card payments. The service includes an app and a small card reader for smartphones and brings the online payments giant into local stores.

It is no surprise that PayPal is entering the mobile point of sale segment, the success of Square, Intuit GoPayment, and iZettle prove the increasing demand for such services. PayPal Here is part of PayPal’s multichannel strategy; the company is trying to provide payment solutions for online, offline and mobile business.

How does it work?

PayPal Here includes a small triangular card reader and a free app for iOS and Android devices, allowing merchants to accept payments by swiping cards. The card reader is full encrypted and PCI-compliant. The card information can also be manually entered into the app. Unlike its competitors PayPal Here also allows users to scan cards and checks using their phone cameras – a service provided by mobile payment startup card.io.

After signing up and downloading the PayPal Here app, merchants can immediately start accepting payments and receive funds directly into their PayPal account. Merchants pay a fee of 2.7% for each transaction. They will also receive a business debit card with 1 percent cash-back on eligible purchases, cutting the effective fees down to 1.7%. For comparison: Square’s merchant fee is 2.75% for each swiped transaction.

The PayPal Here card reader and merchant app will roll out in United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong within the next month (more countries to be announced soon).

Check out the embedded video to see how PayPal Here works:

In the US, mobile card reader dongles that allow small merchants to process card payments via their smartphone or tablet have been available for some time now. UK-based e-commerce platform Powa, lead by Dan Wagner, has just announced to launch a service of this type in the UK called mPowa.

The features, and also the reader itself, seem to be a copy of the established card processing service Square, wich is available in the US only. According to the company’s website, the free card reader adapter, in conjunction with an app, will enable iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices to process credit card payments. mPowa will take a 0.25% cut (with a minimum of 25p) of each transaction. This is a very competitive pricing, although the fee for the acquiring bank is not included. In comparison, Square charges 2.75% for each swiped transaction including bank fees.

There is a huge market for mobile payment and with NFC being far from ubiquitous, accepting credit payments via a card reader and an app on a smartphone can become a worldwide success story.

Check out the video below see how mPowa works:

Intuit today announced that its mobile GoPayment service, a credit card reader and a mobile credit card app for smartphones, will be available in Canada soon. For Intuit the launch in Canada is the first step of providing its GoPayment service on a global level. In addition, Intuit presented an updated version of its card reader.

The new GoPayment card reader will be available in both the U.S. and Canada. According to the company, the new design will prevent the reader from moving when swiping a card so that the card is read accurately the first time. In Canada, GoPayment will initially only be compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, although the reader is compatible with Android devices as well.

With the expansion to Canada Intuit is one step ahead of its main competitor Square which offers a similar service in the U.S. “We’re taking two big steps forward today: announcing GoPayment in Canada, and releasing a new and improved card reader,” commented Chris Hylen, Vice President and General Manager of Intuit’s Payment Solutions division. “This is part of our strategy to offer GoPayment internationally and to innovate in ways that make it easier for our customers, in all markets, to never miss a sale.”

Square released a new version of its Card Case app, a mobile wallet application for Apple iPhone 4 and 4S. The app now allows customers to pay simply by saying their name, without taking their phone out of their pocket.

Square started in October 2010 with a small dongle that plugs into the headphone jack of an smartphone and acts as a credit-card reader. The reader can be bought at more than 9,000 retail stores, including Walmart. The dongle, in combination with the Card Case app, allows merchants to accept cards without having to buy additional hardware. The service has seen widespread adoption among small businesses, and is now processing $2B in payments per year.

How does it work?

The updated Card Case app uses location-based services to determine when a user is near (within 100 meters) to a merchant that accepts Square’s Card Case payments. If the feature is enabled by the user, an “automatic tab” opens at the merchants register, showing that customer’s name and photo. When making a purchase, the user needs to identify himself/herself by saying his/her name. After the merchant accepts the payment, a conformation is send to the users phone.

Check out the video below to see the new Card Case features in action:

Square’s credit card reader will be available in Walmart in the US soon, increasing the number of retail stores where it is sold to more than 9,000, as reported by Bloomberg today.

The Square app, which is available for Apple iOS or Google Android, enables individuals and businesses to accept payments on their mobile devices. It can be used either by swiping the card on the card reader that plugs into the headphone jack, or by manually entering the details on the phone. The app is available for free at the App Store and Android Market.

The card reader is sold for $10 and comes with a $10 redemption code. Square earns its money by charging a fee of 2.75% on every credit card transaction. The service is only available in the US, its European counterpart iZettle recently received $11.2 million in Series A funding.

The company was founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and publicly launched in October 2010. The service has seen widespread adoption since its launch and is now processing $2B in payments per year. PayPal, by comparison, expects more than $3.5B in mobile volume this year.

Check out the video to see Square in action:

iZettle, a mobile payment provider, today announced it has received €8.2 million ($11.2 million) in Series A funding led by Index Ventures with co-investor Creandum and further investment from Charles Dunstone, Co-founder and CEO of The Carphone Warehouse.

In August this year, iZettle released a free app and mini chip-card reader for iOS devices in Sweden. iZettle’s solution enables anyone to accept card payments using their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. The card reader, which is attached to the bottom of the device, allows users to take payments from chip-enabled credit or debit cards. The service is EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) approved, and compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). No sensitive data is stored on the mobile device or the card reader, and all data traffic is encrypted.

iZettle is often referred to as the European counterpart of US mobile payment service Square. The services and rates are similar, but iZettle also supports chip-enabled cards, which are popular in Europe. The Series A funds will be used to expand into chip-card markets outside of Sweden as well as support the development of the iZettle sevice. Ben Holmes, Index Partner who joins iZettle board of directors says: ”iZettle is a company with the right technology at the right time. Its simple and cost-effective system is opening up a whole new frontier for the payments industry.”