iZettle adds UnionPay card acceptance to its mobile reader

European mobile point of sale provider iZettle has added UnionPay cards to the menu of credit and debit cards its merchants can accept.

The partnership with China's major card network will allow millions of Chinese travelers visiting Europe each year to pay for goods and services with their UnionPay cards through the iZettle reader.

Stockholm-based iZettle says its card reader is the first across its 10 European markets to accept UnionPay transactions.

“This partnership will help the hundreds of thousands of business owners that use iZettle to sell more by accepting more payment alternatives," Johan Bendz, chief marketing officer at iZettle, said in a Jan. 19 press release.

Johan Jeppsson/Bloomberg

The transaction fee with UnionPay cards will be the same as with other major credit cards that iZettle accepts: 2.75% of the transaction size, with the potential for a lower rate based on volume.

The deal with UnionPay comes four months after the company strengthened its potential in restaurant and other small-business settings by acquiring intelligentpos, a business/management technology provider based in Scotland.

Generally looked upon in the payments industry as Europe's equivalent of Square in the U.S., iZettle completed a round of funding last week that included support from U.S. investors. However, the company has not stated a specific intention to bring the iZettle device to the U.S. market.