Banco Santander is the first bank in Spain to enable the self‑employed and micro merchants to accept card payments with smartphones and tablets. The initiative, which falls within the bank’s Innova programme, is being made possible via a partnership with iZettle.

Banco Santander will promote iZettle's new chip and PIN reader to customers. This connects wirelessly, via Bluetooth, to a smartphone or tablet. Like the iZettle chip and signature reader, the new device works with the company's free app. “Our vision from day one has been to simplify and democratise payments,” says Jacob de Geer, co-founder and CEO of iZettle. “Small businesses deserve a simpler, more mobile and affordable way to accept credit card payments, and our breadth of products and partnership with Santander go a long way towards making that happen. After seeing a great demand and take up on our chip and signature solution, adding a chip and PIN reader to our product offering enables us to extend our target group of individuals and micro merchants to include businesses with higher transaction volumes.”

“In Spain alone there are more than one million self-employed, professionals, and micro-companies that, due to the mobile nature of their business, need an option that is more flexible than conventional card terminals,” says Francisco Fernández Cué, head of payments at Banco Santander. “For Banco Santander it is a priority to help these businesses to grow and flourish. The bank is making use of new technologies and mobile devices to make its customers’ lives and work easier.”

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