Sweden’s iZettle turns phone handsets into a card payment terminal

Similar to “Square”, Sweden’s start-up, called iZettle, has been officially launched in that country.

Following closed beta testing, the iZettle application for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch has now gone live on the Swedish App Store.

The system lets users accept low value payments by simply entering the amount and customer's card number in the app.

For bigger payments, merchants attach a plastic card reader to their device which automatically opens the app. They then enter the payment amount and the customer signs on the device's screen, adding an e-mail address if they want a receipt.

The firm charges 2.75% of the sale plus SEK 1.50 for each transaction.

IZettle says it has received the approval of EMV and says it adheres to PCI-DSS data handling requirements.

Although it works with chip, not magstripe, cards, the system is similar to that offered by US operation Square, which has proved a big hit in that country.

Watch iZettle at work.