European mobile payments company iZettle raises $47 million

Mobile payment company iZettle, often referred to as the “Square of Europe,” has raised €40 million ($47 million) in a round of equity funding led by VC firm and early backer Dawn Capital and The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund, with participation from other existing investors.

This takes the company’s total funding over the past year to around $150 million, constituting a mix of debt and equity financing. Indeed, the Swedish startup announced a $63 million round back in January, around 75 percent of which was debt financing from Victory Park Capital. And three months ago, iZettle announced another $36 million debt raise from the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund a bunch of R&D initiatives.

Founded out of Stockholm, Sweden in 2010, iZettle targets small to medium-sized businesses with hardware and software, including a physical bank card reader and an app that allows merchants to accept card payments from customers through mobile devices. The company operates in a dozen markets, 10 of which are in Europe and two in Latin America (Brazil and Mexico). Jack Dorsey’s Square recently launched in the U.K. to take on iZettle in what could be shaping up to become a highly competitive market.

With another $47 million in the bank, the company plans to “accelerate its growth strategy and product innovation,” according to a statement.

“iZettle is currently in an extensive expansion phase and has a unique position to make a difference for millions of small businesses,” said iZettle CEO and cofounder Jacob de Geer. “Through today’s announcement, we’re able to allocate additional resources in order to accelerate our ambitious growth plan and product innovation.”