Square is being installed in all Starbucks US stores, iZettle launches in UK, and PayPal is going global with their mobile solution. However, collecting payments from mobile phones is still not that easy, as the recent launch of iZettle in the UK showed.

iZettle and their adapter, see figure below, was launched in Sweden a year ago, and according to the co-founder Jacob de Geer, it is now used by more than 75,000 small businesses and individuals in six countries. iZettle is backed by MasterCard and American Express, but not by Visa. So payment by MasterCard and Amex is easy, while payment for Visa users is tortuous. They have to hand over their phone numbers and tap in their security details on their phones. This is because Visa needs 'a fully Visa Europe compliant mobile point of sale solution.'

iZettle adapter

Source Copyright©2012 - iZettle

 

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We are still in the experimental phase of developing mobile phone payment solutions, the payment card companies will have to agree the standards. The demand is just too great.