US-based credit card company American Express (Amex) has joined peer MasterCard as an investor in Izettle, a Sweden-based mobile payment system (whose staff are pictured).
Amex provided an undisclosed amount to join Izettle’s series B round that initially closed last year at €25m ($32m).
Alongside the two card companies in the B round are local bank SEB’s Private Equity unit and venture capital firms Greylock Partners, Northzone Ventures, Creandum and Index Ventures.
Index and Creandum had provided about $15m in the A round to Izettle.
Izettle’s mini chip-card reader and app, which turn an iPhone, iPad or Android device into a mobile credit card payment terminal, are available throughout the Nordic countries, and now being tested for commercial release in the UK.
Werner Decker, senior vice-president of merchant services in Europe at Amex, said: “The payments landscape is changing rapidly and we believe Izettle’s solution will play an important role in helping to further enable commerce – especially in small merchant segments that have historically relied on cash – by delivering a smart and convenient way for small businesses to accept consumer payments.”