iZettle increases profitability with transaction data

The company is now focusing on converting all transaction data for new functions. The aim is increased profitability – for both customers and the company.

Housed at reception in iZettle’s office in Stockholm is the company’s brief, intensive history. Hanging behind a glass panel on one of the walls are lots of newspaper cuttings, and a host of framed diplomas are displayed on a shelf. Since it started up in 2010, the company has been showered with nominations, prizes and awards.

iZettle is one of many successful startups with an office by Stureplan in Stockholm. But in contrast to many of the others, iZettle’s is based not on new technology, but rather on the use of an existing infrastructure. With its app and mobile card readers, the company has made it possible for small businesses to accept card payments easily. Without long agreements, binding periods and expensive card terminals.

“We’re doing something that’s been around for a long time in an innovative way. We’re aiming at a segment in the market that the banks haven’t considered profitable and have therefore ignored,” says Hannah Meiton, VP Sales at iZettle.

Creative environment decisive

The company’s first card reader was launched in Sweden in 2011. iZettle is now available in ten countries and hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs – from hairdressers and taxi drivers to artists and food trucks – are using the card readers.

The company has 180 employees, 130 of them working at head office in Stockholm. The office, covering two floors, is bustling with development engineers, risk analysts, hardware and software teams and customer service. They all work in an open-plan environment, and instead of meetings in locked conference rooms they have “stand ups”, where everyone can take part, listen and offer feedback.

“We want everyone in the company to know what we’re aiming for and what the results are. A transparent corporate culture is a must if you’re to succeed as a startup. It’s also one of the biggest challenges when you grow quickly. Having a creative environment, short decision-making paths and a flat organisation are absolutely decisive if we’re to be able to continue being disruptive,” says Hannah Meiton.

New functions every month

And developments are moving rapidly. iZettle launches new functions and solutions to make life easier and better for customers at least twice a month. As well as accepting card payments, iZettle’s customers can register cash payments, link a cash register to the app and print receipts. iZettle also provides customers with access to valuable sales statistics. There is a portal where customers can easily see, for example, which products are selling best and where.

“So far we’ve focused on making it easy to receive payments. We’re now working more and more on the data that exists. By using that in a smart way, we can provide our customers with information to help them grow as a company,” says Hannah Meiton.

The customer journey – an important feature of work

Satisfied, active customers are a prerequisite for iZettle to be able to continue to develop as a company. Customer service plays a central role in the company, providing service in eight different languages.

For the last two years the company has also been working actively on the customer journey. Keeping track of who the customers are, which functions they use and what their needs are makes it possible to personalise communication.

“The customer journey is trigger-based and is controlled entirely by the customer. If, for example, we notice that a customer has registered, but hasn’t bought a reader, we can send out an email with a targeted offer. We can do the same thing if a customer has bought a reader, but hasn’t registered any card transactions.”

Every month, more than half a million emails are sent to iZettle’s customers with special offers and information based on the choices they’ve made and in which industries they operate.

“An entrepreneur running a clothing store might receive a special offer for a receipt printer, while if you’re selling buns from a market stall you probably don’t need one.”

All of iZettle’s customer communication has one clear objective: That customers will continue their journey and at the same time become and remain as active as possible.

“There’s massive potential here. If we can help our customers to increase turnover by one per cent, that’s incredibly good, both for our customers’ turnover and for us as a company,” says Hannah Meiton.

Welcomes competition

When iZettle started up in 2011, they were relatively unique in the European market. The competition has become tougher since then. PayPal, Apple, Google and Amazon have moved into the market, and in Sweden Handelsbanken recently launched a mobile payment solution. But for the time being Hannah Meiton does not view the competition as a threat, in fact quite the reverse.

“As a startup, we’re innovative and move quickly. At the same time we operate in a market that’s full of laws, rules and operators that haven’t been in a hurry. Sometimes it’s felt like wading through syrup. Having more new operators speeds everything up. And that’s good for us as well.”

Belief in continued expansion

In parallel with developing its services, iZettle is working to become established in more countries. As recently as November, iZettle was launched in the Netherlands, and the plan is to continue to grow in new markets.

“In Europe alone there are 20 million entrepreneurs who don’t accept cards. In Brazil and Mexico there are probably another ten million. And in Germany, 80 per cent of all payments are still made with cash,” says Hannah Meiton.

iZettle is totally focused at the moment on physical trading and has no plans to move into the expanding e-commerce market. At the same time, they are keeping a close eye on the opportunities and challenges created by new technology. And if the day comes when credit cards disappear, Hannah Meiton is convinced that iZettle will offer other solutions.

“We want to continue to be disruptive and to find new solutions using the technology that the market chooses. And then it doesn’t matter whether you’re paying by card, watch, mobile phone or some other way.”

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