Germany becomes the sixth country targeted by iZettle, which claims more than 75,000 users in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the UK, where beta testing is currently in place ahead of a full roll out.

In Germany, Equens, part owned by DZ Bank, will process payments, while Deutsche Telekom - Europe's largest carrier - will distribute the iZettle chip-card reader in shops across the country from November.

Jacob de Geer, CEO, iZettle, says: "Strategically, Germany is one of our core markets, and we are committed to serving everyone from individuals to small businesses here long term. Our ambition is to become the undisputed market leader in Germany and given the partnerships with DZ Bank and Deutsche Telekom we believe we are very well positioned."

The firm is also handing out 25,000 free readers for iPhone or iPad during launch as it tries to gain a foothold on the home turf of rival Payleven.

Officially launched earlier this month, Payleven offers a similar system but its dongle includes a PIN pad. This means that it can accept Visa transactions, something that iZettle was blocked from doing in Denmark, Finland and Norway in July over security concerns.

Despite Visa's worries, iZettle has secured the backing of American Express, which recently joined an expanded series b funding round, joining fellow card giant MasterCard.

Meanwhile, on the horizon, threatening both companies, is industry leader Square, which finally took its first steps outside of the US last week when it arrived in Canada.