Clip, the Mexcian equivalent of Square, has raised $8 million in a funding round led by Alta venture with new investors American Express and Sierra Venture.
The company - set up by two former PayPal employees - has already secured deals with Banorte, Banamex and Bancomed as it bids to emulate Square's success by providing its card reader to small merchants in emerging markets across Latin America.
Adolfo Babatz, Clip's co-founder & CEO, says: "Our product is designed from the ground up to satisfy merchant needs in emerging markets. We offer an incredibly simple solution that really helps merchants increase their sales. For example, with Clip, merchants can offer payments in installments to their clients with more than 18 issuers in Mexico. This makes small and medium businesses really competitive in the marketplace."
Amex is on something of a tear in the mobile card reading market, coming fresh from a European deal to bundle the payleven Chip & Pin reader with its Business Gold cards across Europe. The card scheme has no equity in payleven, although it has previously invested in Swedish mPOS provider iZettle, London-based SumUp and India's ezetap.
Rohit Bodas, partner, American Express Ventures, says of the Clip deal: "We believe in the potential of Clip's end-to-end payments technology as an important driver of commerce in emerging markets. This investment furthers our commitment to deliver additional value to small merchants, empowering them to grow their businesses through a seamless point-of-sale experience."