Swedish mPOS vendor iZettle is to get EUR30 million in debt funding from the European Investment Bank to help it better understand the technology needs of small companies.
The company - which offers a suite of services that enables companies to take payments, to register sales and to get funding - says the three-year financing from the EIB will be earmarked for research and development into new technology trends, including machine learning and AI, digitisation of commerce processes and scaling legislative and compliance systems.
EIB-vice president Alexander Stubb says: “This loan...stands testimony to EIB’s ongoing effort to improve the access to funding for European mid-cap companies. iZettle is a young and innovative company which helps digitalise our economy and improves the business and cost structure of millions of small shops.”
An early European competitor to Square, iZettle currently operates in 12 markets in Europe and Latin America, with 1000 small businesses signing up every day.
This rapid customer acquisition helped the company increase revenues to SEK643 million (EUR66.8 million) last year, up from SEK402 million (EUR41.7 million). Although the firm remains some way off turning a profit, losses decreased by 23% to SEK228 million (EUR23.7 million).
In January iZettle closed a EUR60 million financing round, taking its total funding to around EUR200 million.