Europe’s potential answer to Square is iZettle. The company with a plug-in for the iPhone that allows Europeans to take card payments took on board another 25 million euros for a total investment to date of close to 37 million euros. The funding is expected to consolidate their launch in Scandinavia, continue the pilot trials in the UK, and then take the product to central Europe.

Two things caught my eye. The first is that they’re going to leave the US market to companies such as Square. That’s only natural down to the differences in the payment systems between the countries. Most European cards require Chip and Pin access (which iZettle can ready), while American card readers just need a magstripe reader (which is all Square has). Growth needs to be managed, and iZettle are smart to go for just a few territories which aren’t overflowing with competition.

The second eye catcher is in the investors for the Series B funding include Mastercard.

It’s to be expected that the existing payment companies are going to keep a close eye on the start-up in the space, and the easiest way to do that is to become an investor. If one of them is a success, then they are best placed to understand why. And if they back a looser, well there are more companies out there.