iZettle adds new loyalty analytics features as it squares up to Square

Swedish mobile payments company iZettle has tweaked its reports dashboard for merchants to include details on repeat business in a move that could lay the foundation for a customer loyalty program offering.

Sweden-based iZettle is hoping to be Europe's answer to Square. Merchants use the service by plugging an  iZettle card reader into iOS or Android device. The reader accepts chip and PIN or chip and signature card payments from Visa and Mastercard, with funds then transferred to the merchant's bank account.

iZettle analyses credit card transactions made via its service to provide merchants with more detailed data on their trades. From today, the company's updated merchant portal will display revenue, top selling products, transactions, average payment volume and returning customers.

iZettle card readers can be plugged into Apple or Android handsets. Image: iZettle

"You can tell how many of your customers are returning, in effect, how many loyal customers you have — which is an interesting metric for the offline world. There are not many that offer merchants to track such things even though it's pretty common in the online world," iZettle's CEO Jacob De Geer told ZDNet.com.

Merchants can track sales and repeat visits on an annual, monthly and weekly basis.

Like Square, iZettle charges 2.75 percent of each transaction and deposits payments into the merchants bank account. However, each company is building out different features.

In June last year, Square added a 'digital loyalty card' to its offerings. Using Square's 'Pay with Square' app installed on consumer devices, merchants can now offer an app-based version of the 'buy 10 coffees, get one free' loyalty program.

iZettle does not have a similar app for consumers, and with its existing product set, De Geer sees privacy as an obstacle. "You probably don't want your local cafe to spam you about cheap cookies. That's the challenge for everyone in this business," he said.

However, the new merchant dashboard is "a first step" towards the loyalty business, which it will use to assess what kind of tools it make sense to add.

Catering to iZettle's restaurant, cafe and retailer merchant customers, iZettle has now also partnered with POS vendor Star Micronics to offer retailers traditional cash register features like printed receipts. Previously iZettle users could only email receipts.

iZettle also released an API for its service last year, which allows third parties to integrate its payment function into their own apps without needing to have the iZettle reader — small-business appointment software vendor Booking Bug recently integrated iZettle app with its booking app, for example. allowing users to take web-based payments on the move. Square's API is not available yet, however.

The new features come alongside the launch of Intuit's Pay and PayPal's Here in Europe, which adding to the roster of companies, such as Payleven and Sum Up, eyeing the market.

De Geer says iZettle is now adding 3,000 users per day across UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Spain. He declined to disclose iZettle's total user base was, but said it was planning to expand to more European markets this year in addition to its first non-European market. A date has not been set for the latter, he said.