Focus Squarely On Europe, Mobile Payments Startup iZettle Gets $31.4M From Greylock

Its uniqu IP — an interesting mix of software research with hardware thrown in — is as well what has attracted this latest round of investment.

"iZettle is the first and only company to develop an affordable chip-card reader and app for smartphone-based mobile commerce that meets all of the rigorous international security requirements," Laurel Bowden, Greylock's partner in London who is joining iZettle's board of directors, said in a statement. "They've proved they're ready to step up their game in this very complex and competitive industry."

The fact that iZettle is based around the chip research, and that it has a firm commitment to becoming the name synonymous with mobile payments in Europe, makes the company as well potentially interesting as either a partner, or even an outright acquisition target, for those larger U.S.-based payment companies that are looking for a way of entering a new market.

iZettle creates services for person-to-person and business-to-consumer commerce. The first service includes a free iPhone app and a mini chip card reader that lets anyone take card payments anytime, anywhere.

Greylock partners with entrepreneurs to help them build market-leading businesses. Over the past 45 years the firm has worked with hundreds of companies, 150 of which have gone on to IPOs and 100 of which have gone on to profitable M&A events. Such companies include Ascend Communications, CheckFree, CipherTrust, Constant Contact, Continental Cable, Decru, Data Domain, DoubleClick, Farecast, Internet Security Systems, Ikanos, Legato, Media Metrix, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Openwave, Open Market, OutlookSoft, Polyserve, Red Hat, RightNow Technologies, Success Factors, Tellabs,...

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As a critical link among financial institutions and millions of businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide, MasterCard provides services in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard advances commerce worldwide by developing more secure, convenient and rewarding payment solutions, processing billions of payments seamlessly across the globe, and building economic connections that accelerate business.

Northzone is a research investment partnership. With four offices and nine investment professionals across the Nordics and most recently the UK, Northzone's focus is on disruptive companies in attractive markets. Since its inception in 1996, Northzone has invested in over 75 companies, injecting some 200 years of collective operational and investment experience into businesses that in fact make a difference. Notable investments include Lastminute.com, Pricerunner, Spotify, Nextgentel, Funcom, Stepstone, Nimsoft, EPiServer, Avito and Mamut.

Index Ventures is a leading venture capital firm specializing in investments in information research and life sciences companies. The firm invests in seed, early and growth stage start-ups across US and Europe.Since its inception in 1996, Index Ventures has backed visionary entrepreneurs who have taken on incumbents and built seminal companies in a number of growth sectors including: open source software companies just as MySQL, Trolltech, Zend and Pentaho; broadband and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) companies just as Virata, Skype, FON and...