People in Sweden, the country in Northern Europe where I am from, would consider themselves early adopters in electronic payments – for instance they were quick to put aside checks and cash. Despite this, accepting card payments has not been easy for individuals and small businesses.
In 2010 I teamed up with my fellow entrepreneur Magnus Nilsson and together we founded iZettle, a pioneering company determined to democratize card payments – for individuals, micro-merchants and small-businesses alike. In simple terms iZettle is a secure and easy to use card reader for mobile payments which is currently revolutionizing Swedish commerce. The first service has a free of charge iPhone app and an EMV chip card reader to be plugged into your iPhone or iPad, making it the ideal payment solution for the mobile, cashless generation.
I often get asked how I came up with the idea for iZettle. Well, it’s actually down to my wife. She used to work as a trader selling items on local markets. One day she came home and said ‘I could have sold more if I only had been able to accept cards. Can’t you invent a solution for this?’ So as an entrepreneur I started exploring, fast forward a few months and Magnus and I founded iZettle.
Since then, accepting card payments has become a reality for tens of thousands of people across Sweden. And this is just the start. Soon, iZettle will be available outside of Sweden.
Jacob de Geer is a guest blogger and the founding CEO of iZettle.