iZettle Review (UK)
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- Date Established
- 2010
- Location
- Stockholm, Sweden
Pros
- No setup or application fees
- No termination fees
- Predictable flat-rate pricing
- Inexpensive hardware
- PCI-compliant solution
- Supports PayPal payments
- Excellent website and advertising
Cons
- Account stability issues
Overview
While we typically don’t review UK mobile credit card processors here at Merchant Maverick, we decided to make history and create this iZettle review for our readers. Why? First, we’ve heard quite a lot of buzz about iZettle within the mobile processing niche. Secondly, iZettle is often compared to Square and even referred to as the Square of Europe, and that is an intriguing prospect worthy of exploration. In writing this review, I approached iZettle the same way I would any other mobile credit card processing review. I dug into each category and explored what iZettle offers and asked how it benefits small businesses, and in doing so, also kept in mind how iZettle compared to other mobile processors (including Square).
We are curious as to what, if anything, will change with iZettle after being acquired by PayPal, so we’re keeping an eye out. Whether you’re a new customer or a long-time user of iZettle, leave us a comment and let us know about your experience!
Note: iZettle does not serve businesses located in the US or Canada.
Table of Contents
iZettle Review: Quick Summary
After researching each category below, I can confidently recommend iZettle as an excellent option for credit card processing in the UK. With no monthly minimum fees, no binding contracts or cancellation fees, and a growing number of feature options, it’s clear that iZettle is worth a generous amount of consideration for mobile processing. While iZettle now serves a dozen countries, including Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, and Germany, we focus on the company’s UK services for this review. Specific pricing and other limitations may vary from one country to another, but the products, services, and features remain essentially the same.
Products & Services
- iZettle Go: While I wasn’t able to hands-on test the mobile app because it is not available in the US, I can tell you that the general response from users has been positive based on Google Play and Apple’s App Store reviews. Features include:
- Inventory Library: You can organize items into folders and include different variants (such as small, medium, large) for each item and upload photos of products to serve as icons. Bulk import and export via Excel to speed things up.
- Cash Drawer/Receipt Printer Connectivity: This is always nice to see. Receipts can also be sent by email or SMS.
- Cash/Card Acceptance: Of course, you don’t have to pay for cash acceptance, but it’s nice to be able to track to better use the reporting tools.
- Discounts: Issue discounts by a percentage or a fixed amount.
- In-App Invoicing: Send an invoice for 2.5% of the transaction.
- VAT: Business accounts can set VAT rates for items.
- Analytics: iZettle’s analytics are pretty standard stuff, but it covers all the important data — card and cash sales, plus the items and quantities of each sold, for starters.
- Order Tickets: Print up receipts as well as tickets for the kitchen.
- Multiple Staff Accounts: Each staff member will have his or her own unique login information, and they do not have access to reports or sensitive account info. This is a nice feature and one available at no extra charge.
- Gratuity: iZettle now has a tipping function, so your customers can add an extra amount right at the reader. Tips are included in sales reports and receipts. If you’ve got an older reader, make sure it’s updated with the latest software for the tipping screen.
- iZettle Pro: iZettle Pro was developed with the hospitality industries in mind with relevant features, including:
- Table management
- Open tab and split bills
- Stock and inventory management (including partial quantities)
- Employee management
- Customer loyalty
- Sales reports and stats
- Support For EMV, Debit, & Contactless Payments: As far as card payments go, iZettle has you covered for pretty much everything — including NFC-based contactless transactions. However, check out the upcoming section for an explanation of where the magstripe option went and why I think that’s a good thing.
- Integrations: iZettle’s available integrations for accounting include Xero and QuickBooks Online (only on iZettle Go). For a full-fledged solution for POS, you also have options. IntelligentPOS, Vend, Lightspeed Restaurant, Lightspeed Retail, and iKentoo all support payments through iZettle while giving you more advanced capabilities, especially for the hospitality industry.
- Customer Database: When customers enter their email address for receipts, iZettle stores them. You can then import that list into an email service, such as Mailchimp.
- iZettle Advance: Need a bit of extra cash to grow your business? iZettle Advance will provide you with the funds you need. The amount you’re eligible for depends on your processing history, and by default, you pay it back with a percentage of your daily sales (though you can make a lump sum payment as well).
- Gift Cards: You can sell gift cards to your customers in two ways. You can order plastic gift cards, or you can deliver gift codes through email, with seamless gift card bookkeeping.
- iZettle eCommerce & Social Selling: One noteworthy change since our last review is that iZettle now offers an eCommerce platform, including social selling on Facebook. So whether you need an all-in-one solution or you want to put this option in your pocket for later, it’s now available for you.
iZettle Card Reader
iZettle has updated its reader to the iZettle Reader 2. The magstripe reader was removed on this one, which is a bit of a bold move considering that Square and similar mobile processing companies still offer a magstripe reader. I think, overall, this is a smart move. Magstripe readers may be familiar and cheap to give away to merchants, but they are riskier when it comes to chargeback protection. Essentially, what this means is that if a merchant swipes a magstripe card, the merchant is liable for any fraudulent charges. EMV chip-card readers and contactless payments are fully PCI compliant and are a smarter move.
Here are the stats on the card and contactless PIN reader:
- Low-energy Bluetooth connectivity (iZettle claims a 30% longer battery life than other mobile card readers)
- Accept all debit cards, all major credit cards, and digital wallets, including Apple Pay, Samsung, and Google Pay, with five-second processing speeds
- You can expect a deposit within one to two business days, which is faster than when we last reviewed iZettle, and it’s a great deal
- The reader comes with a 12-month warranty
Compared to similar mobile processing readers, the iZettle Reader offers great value, is competitively priced, and because of the updates, offers merchants better protection from fraud overall.
Fees & Rates
iZettle’s card transaction fee is a flat 1.75% per transaction, which is a great rate.
If you’re wondering about what goes on behind the scenes, consider that iZettle is a third-party processor that works through Elavon and Bambora. These are both fairly large processors, each handling more than 3 billion transactions annually. If you want to know more about each company’s rates and how that compares to the set interchange fees, you can find that information on the iZettle site, which is a very nice touch.
Invoices will run you a very reasonable 2.5% of the transaction amount. iZettle also sends notices to your client and updates when the invoice is paid.
The iZettle Reader retails for £29, excluding VAT. The cost of the reader has decreased since our last review, too, which makes iZettle even more competitively priced, beating the price of the Square reader as well.
If you opt to upgrade to iZettle Pro, which is geared for hospitality, you’ll pay £30 per month per iPad for you and your team. Your card transaction fee for the Pro plan reduces to 1.25%, which is a great deal.
Contract Length & Early Termination Fee
As you might expect from a pay-as-you-go processor, there’s no early termination fee from iZettle and no monthly fees. Good deal!
Beyond that, iZettle’s contract terms are pretty standard fare for a mobile processor. There’s nothing worrisome in the agreement and nothing sneaky to be aware of. I like the transparency here — which brings me to the next point:
Sales & Advertising Transparency
iZettle does a fantastic job of clearly describing the capabilities of its system and making known all of the important contract stipulations (of which there are very few that would be deal-breakers for anyone, I think). iZettle has worked out of a lot of kinks in its system, from the old method of processing Visa cards to the clunky old card reader. You know what your limits are and what your rates are. In short, there’s very little to object to and no hidden surprises.
In addition to transparency, I think it’s essential that mobile processing companies and other services that cater to small businesses understand how to reach their target demographic. That’s precisely why I always look at a company’s blogs and social media. These are educational tools for small business owners as well as channels of communication.
iZettle is doing pretty well on the blog front. From tips on growing niche business ideas to starting, running, and growing a business, the company offers a wide variety of tips and posts highlighting specific businesses, and it all coalesces into a nice area for business owners. It’s certainly better than what many mobile processors come up with, so I have to give iZettle credit where credit is due.
The company also has a Facebook page, Twitter feed, Instagram profile, and a LinkedIn profile. None of these profiles is particularly active, but the company does post interesting content. There’s also a support-focused Twitter account. What surprises me the most is the fact that the support Twitter feed isn’t nearly as active as I’ve seen with other mPOS providers. Usually, there are several tweets daily — and given that iZettle serves over a dozen countries, I’d expect a lot of activity. But there isn’t. I don’t see many inflammatory comments or complaints about having trouble with an account, which is good, but I also don’t see a lot of engagement.
Get Started with iZettle for the UK
Customer Service & Technical Support
iZettle offers support from 9 AM to 5 PM GMT on weekdays. (If you’re on the higher plan, you get phone support from 8 AM till 8 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 6 PM on weekends.) In addition to email, the company now offers phone support to help with more complex matters as well as a chat widget, which is always good to see.
The site has a solid knowledgebase, though, which means that for most problems, you can probably find the answer for yourself instead of wasting your time with customer support. I always like to see this option, since I know from experience that self-service support is often the most efficient solution for general questions. It’s not the most comprehensive guide I’ve seen, but at the same time, it’s far better than others out there. It addresses all the core issues you’d expect and then some.
User Reviews
Negative Reviews & Complaints
iZettle doesn’t have a large number of complaints floating around, and that’s a very good sign. However, I did find a few out there. These were the most common:
- Connectivity Issues: This is a fairly common complaint against ANY mPOS service that favors iOS over Android and by far the most common thread in recent complaints. The Android ecosystem is so fractured that it’s difficult to support every device, and glitches can happen. Related to this, some people have complained about their card readers failing after app updates.
- Sudden Account Terminations/Suspensions: This is to be expected. Almost all services that provide fast, easy access to payment processing have complaints of early account instability. That’s because companies such as iZettle tend to approve accounts without substantive underwriting, leading them to abruptly cancel services if they later feel that an account is a higher risk than they’d like. It may also cause iZettle to suspend your account pending further verification and investigation. I have not seen many complaints about this against iZettle, but some are popping up. I recommend checking out section 2.2 of the iZettle terms for a list of prohibited business types, as falling into one of those banned categories will get you to shut down pretty quickly.
Get Started with iZettle for the UK
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
You’ll find a nice collection of testimonial videos and remarks on the iZettle site under Stories. This is always good to see. You’ll also find a collection of videos featuring iZettle merchants on the company’s YouTube channel.
Aside from that, you’ll find a few other independent review sites (such as ours!) and news outlets that have mostly favorable comments about the iZettle service. Most seem to enjoy the pricing model, which is a fairer system than most mobile processing services provide and better than what many merchant account providers can offer as well. And of course, everyone likes that there are no early termination fees.
You’ll also see that iZettle has a 4.2-star rating from more than 36,330 reviews in the Google Play store. Most people praise the app’s ease of use and how quickly and reliably the card reader connects. In iTunes, the app has 4.7 stars on nearly 8,000 ratings, with the top accolades being that it is fast and easy to use. So clearly, merchants like the app overall.
A last look at iZettle’s most popular products and services
| Reader | POS | ecommerce | invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Mobile Processing | Point of Sale | Online Store | Invoicing |
Card reader is only £19 for a limited time (Normally £59) | Specialised upgrades are available | Integrate with all sales channels | Easy one-time and recurring billing |
Always £0/month | £0/month for standard app | Always £0/month | |
1.75% for in-person sales | 1.75% for in-person sales | 2.5% for ecommerce sales | 2.5% for invoiced sales |
Europe only. Does not serve US or Canadian businesses. | Europe only. Does not serve US or Canadian businesses. | Europe only. Does not serve US or Canadian businesses. | Europe only. Does not serve US or Canadian businesses. |
Final Verdict
Though my experience in UK mobile payment options may be limited, I can still confidently recommend iZettle in this review. iZettle offers high-quality service, honest marketing, and a capable mobile app.
There are a couple of shortcomings with iZettle’s service worth mentioning. Unlike Square, iZettle doesn’t allow offline processing or manual entry. However, iZettle’s payment flow works a little better for chip and pin payments than Square’s. With some other recent optional add-ons, the gap between Square and iZettle is narrowing. iZettle certainly has everything you absolutely need to run a business and accept credit cards. I’m perfectly comfortable recommending that you check out the service, and iZettle keeps a solid 5 stars. Do you have thoughts on iZettle? Let us know in the comments! If you’re interested in comparing some of the features that Square offers to iZettle in your search, check out our full Square Review.
Melissa Johnson
Melissa Johnson has been writing about payment processing and mobile payments since 2014, and has been quoted in articles for Credit Karma and The Next Web, among others. She graduated from The University of Kansas in 2010 with bachelor's degrees in English and journalism.
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Organization Name: Eric Collier and Son
Please don’t use them , their security is pathetic. Apparently somebody hacked my account with no security questions as to why they wanted to change the name of my company the bank account details and even the Bank was changed. No questions asked no text, phone call , e-mail to confirm with me that I actually wanted this change to take place. Somebody then waltzed off with £24,000 of our money and according to izettle (with the little feedback we have had) it’s tough luck and all down to us. As I’ve assured them that if our money is not returned then I will be taking legal advice in order to retrieve it.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Doorway Systems
July 2018. iZettle Card Reader “Go” system is “Free” except for the Reader cost and the small percentage fee per transaction. “Go” works well for us for small transactions, ie less than 50 UK Pounds each. It is tempting to just use “Cash amount” but then it is only possible to identify payments from the time and date of transaction. Setting up “Products” makes reconciliation much easier.A very worrying security glitch is the inability to remove any signed in an Apple iOS device that is no longer in your possession, ie lost or staff member left etc. Surprisingly changing the master account password and/or ID email address via the website does NOT log off ANY connected iOS device. The logged-in status is retained through iZettle app update, iOS update and power cycle. Until this is fixed be warned, do NOT login any iOS device using the master account details. Instead setup individual staff memeber accounts that have limited visibility. I reported to iZettle Help desk last week, no reply yet, so I may have to close the account!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Hadsham Enterprises
DO NOT BUY Izettle – we have a 4 week event and in good time purchased the Izettle reader and set up our account. We managed to use the Izettle reader a few times which was great and payment were received into our business account. A few days later we received an email saying:”Unfortunately, the iZettle account connected to this email has been highlighted in one of our internal controls and we won’t be able to process any future transactions for it. Please note that we strictly follow rules and regulations set up by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Sw. Finansinspektionen), our acquiring banks and the card networks. For confidentiality reasons, we can’t go into any further details about this.”Phoned Izettle support – they confirmed account was closed and couldn’t tell me anything more. The agent suggested replying to the email but admitted he didn’t fancy my chances of getting a response.THIS IS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING – we now approach our busiest weekend (Easter weekend) with no way of taking card payments. The most frustrating thing is that there is no explanation and we now have a card reader we paid for that’s useless. Imagine if you received an email from your bank saying that they had closed your account with no explanation, you then call them and they simply say there’s nothing they can do and can’t tell you why.DON’T BUY IZETTLE –
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Celebrity Framed Photos
Do not buy one! I found izzettle good to start with then my account was blocked with no explanation than security were looking at my account. Then my account was closed down. I spent a great deal of time trying to email them rang them up 5 days running answered all their questiions. They would not give me any reason to why my account was closed. The customer service is terrible. They did not return my calls. The could not tell me why my account was closed.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: iZettle
Hello Kim,
My name is Ali and I work at iZettle. I apologise that you have felt mistreated in this situation, and I can assure you that we do value ALL of our customers. Please send me an email and a subject line and I will make sure you get an answer.
Many thanks
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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Organization Name: gaiapulses.com
Izettle refused to refund my money back when my account was hacked and they changed my bank account details to someone else’s and I lost all my money. They provide NO insurance for frauds. I wish i knew that earlier.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I purchased iZettle for my newly started business (home improvements) to give my clients more and easier payment options. Took a deposit for a job for £1000 and 3 days after I get an email saying that my account is flagged and the funds are frozen and will not be deposited into my bank account. You can imagine the anger and the frustration, considering that we needed the deposit for various materials and tools to do the job. We started to work whilst we have replied to iZettle security with all the information they required about our business. The answer came: “Unfortunately, the iZettle account connected to this email has been highlighted in one of our internal controls and we won’t be able to process any future transactions for it. Please note that we strictly follow rules and regulations set up by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Sw. Finansinspektionen), our acquiring banks and the card networks.” Really? I am trading in the UK. Nobody is giving me any information about what is going on and they won’t even release my money. iZettle created such a pain and nuisance for us considering we just started to trade. I would NEVER RECOMMEND iZettle to anybody who really wants to keep their mind sane and their money in their pocket.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Just like Peter above, I took a large amount on card for a company vehicle we were selling so we may renew the fleet and they have held our funds and will not release them to me, they have even stated refunding the card used, I don’t fucking think so iZettle, I am STRONGLY considering sueing them for my current losses and damages due to the upset, wasted time and losses we have received. You better sort this out NOW iZettle or I will make you sorry you ever crossed me.!!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I left a message for a call back to discuss moving my business over to izettle as intuitpay is ceasing in January. I then receive back an email no call to say Thank you for contacting us at iZettle.If you have any other questions or difficulties please feel free to contact us at 442034816000 so we can further assist you.Have a wonderful day! Best regards, A standard templated letter.Not a good start if customer services cant read and understand a simple request
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
iZettle stinks!
Is this company pury a scam, I expect maybe they are?
I used their card reader to deposit £4699.00 with them. Fine I thought, I gave my cash in the bank within 3 days less their exorbitant fee.
NO CHANCE!
Apparently my account was flagged for security reasons so until I answer a series of ridiculous questions they won’t release my cash. It’s ridiculous. They send one email asking stupid Questions, then another over 48 hours, taking up valuable time because this cash is also my business only working capitol which I need in my bank immediately otherwise I cannot trade and will lose work as a result (costing me £1000 profit)
Well surely I can call support?
Nope! Support can only deal with tech issues and can only email their “security” department who do not call you back when promised, another scammy scenario. Upshot is that I cannot talk to anyone regarding this issue. To compound matters they are now asking me to provide an original invoice.
I do not issue invoices to domestic clients. Never have done as it’s never asked for. I only issue contracts stating the amounts and…. I cannot send them a copy because my laptop is currently being repaired.
I still have no idea when my money will be released to me.
iZettle are a nightmare, steer well clear!
Peter Johnston
Dynamic Home Improvements
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
iZettle now offer contactless card reader, who to chose iZettle or Payleven *confused*
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Hi,The rates are great the main draw back for us a a busy coffee shop is that they do not accept contactless payment and have no current plans to do so. Payleven have the same rates and are trailing contactless –
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.