Set to launch in Sweden within weeks.
iZettle is the first company to bring Square's business model to Europe. This comprises a dongle that slots into the dock of an iOS device into which a credit card can be swiped.
The service therefore has the potential to bring credit card payments to any trader with an iPhone or iPad. In theory that's store owners without chip and pin machines, mobile traders (like plumbers etc) or even private individuals.
Square claims to be signing up 100,000 merchants a month and was processing $1m a day by March 2011.
iZettle says it's the first Europe-based firm to replicate the concept because of the mountain of regulator approval needed in the continent.
Its system is Euorpay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) approved, and compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS).
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As part of this approval, all data traffic is encrypted, which should exempt iZettle from some of the security scare stories that have flared up around Square and Verifone in the US.
The iZettle mobile payment service is free to use, and its app is free to download. Fees are charged per transaction.
It also offers a social dimension so users can choose to share details of their purchases with friends. Why is anyone's guess.
The service is in beta, but has already accumulated 6,000 Swedish partners. iZettle is planning to launch in other Euro countries this year, and has an Android version planned.
Jacob de Geer, CEO of iZettle, told ME: "There are 19m cash businesses around Europe now, and here we have a service that can give every one of them the ability to accept credit cards. It's an incredible opportunity."
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