Having secured $6 million in funding, Italy's Jusp is set to become the latest firm to enter the crowded European market for app and chip and PIN dongle systems that turn mobile phones into card payment terminals.
The funding - raised in a round led by VCs Principia Sgr and Vertis Sgr - will be used to launch the system in Italy and other, unnamed, European countries.
Jusp joins Sweden's iZettle, German-based Payleven, the UK's mPowa, and Amerian invaders Intuit and PayPal in the bustling European dongle and app mobile payments arena.
Unlike its rivals, the firm's chip and PIN reader attaches to mobile and tablets via the audio jack, rather than using bluetooth, meaning merchants do not have to work with two devices.
The reader - which works with iOS and Android devices - costs merchants EUR39, with a transaction fee of 2.7%, slightly lower than iZettle's and Payleven's.
Jusp claims that it has attracted interest from banks in Europe and the US and will look to work with partners to launch in some countries, while going in directly in others, such as Spain, France and Brazil.