PayPal Point of Sale (formerly Zettle by PayPal)

Overview

Zettle by PayPal, formerly iZettle and now being renamed PayPal Point of Sale, is a card-acceptance and point-of-sale (POS) product for small merchants, not a consumer wallet. Nobody pays with Zettle: a shopper meets it as a card reader, a touchscreen terminal or a merchant's phone, and pays with a contactless or chip card, a phone wallet, or (in some markets) a PayPal, Venmo, Swish, Vipps or MobilePay payment [5](https://www.zettle.com/gb/about-us) [11](https://www.zettle.com/gb/pricing) [17](https://www.paypal.com/us/business/pos-system). Founded in Stockholm in 2010, it was bought by PayPal for about $2.2 billion in 2018 [2](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2018-09-20-PayPal-Completes-Acquisition-of-iZettle).

History

• 2010, Stockholm. iZettle was founded in Stockholm in 2010 by Jacob de Geer and Magnus Nilsson [2](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2018-09-20-PayPal-Completes-Acquisition-of-iZettle). PayPal credited it with "the world's first mini chip card reader and software for mobile devices" [1](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/PayPal-Expands-Global-Platform-with-Acquisition-of-iZettle).
• August 2013, Brazil. iZettle launched in Brazil through a partnership with Banco Santander [20](https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/izettle-goes-live-in-brazil).
• 2017, local mobile payments. In May 2017 iZettle began taking Swish payments in Sweden, so a merchant could record every payment type in one till that follows the Swedish Tax Agency's rules [21](https://www.realtid.se/bors-finans/izettle-tar-nu-emot-swish-betalningar/). In June 2017 it added Vipps (Norway), MobilePay (Denmark, Finland, Norway) and the UK's Pay by Bank app, free of charge [22](https://channelx.world/2017/06/izettle-enhances-service-local-mobile-payments/). Its CEO then said hundreds of thousands of small businesses in twelve countries used the service, with about 1,000 joining each day [23](https://www.realtid.se/bors-finans/izettle-integrerar-danska-och-norska-swish-losningar/).
• May–September 2018, PayPal acquisition. PayPal agreed on 17 May 2018 to buy iZettle for $2.2 billion, adding in-store capability in 11 markets: Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden [1](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/PayPal-Expands-Global-Platform-with-Acquisition-of-iZettle). The deal closed on 20 September 2018 at approximately $2.2 billion [2](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2018-09-20-PayPal-Completes-Acquisition-of-iZettle).
• 9 December 2020, PayPal QR in the UK. PayPal added QR code payments to iZettle's POS app, the first time UK merchants could take PayPal QR payments in store through a point-of-sale system [6](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2020-12-09-PayPal-launches-touch-free-payments-in-store-with-iZettles-point-of-sale-app-to-support-UK-businesses-post-lockdown).
• February 2021, "Zettle by PayPal". iZettle dropped the "i" and took the full brand name Zettle by PayPal; until then it had kept its own name and run largely apart from PayPal [3](https://www.mobiletransaction.org/izettle-rebrands-to-zettle-by-paypal/).
• 30 June 2021, United States. PayPal launched PayPal Zettle in the US, taking cards, PayPal and Venmo QR codes and digital wallets [7](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-06-30-PayPal-Brings-PayPal-Zettle-to-the-U-S-Its-Digital-In-Person-and-Omnichannel-Solution).
• 27 October 2021, Zettle Terminal. An all-in-one touchscreen terminal with a pre-loaded SIM, needing no paired phone, launched in the UK [8](https://newsroom.uk.paypal-corp.com/2021-10-27-PayPal-launches-Zettle-Terminal-in-the-UK).
• 10 April 2023, Brazil closed. Zettle Brasil ended operations on 10 April 2023 [19](https://www.zettle.com/br).
• Tap to Pay. Tap to Pay on iPhone reached UK Zettle users on 8 August 2023 [9](https://newsroom.uk.paypal-corp.com/Zettle-by-PayPal-launches-Tap-to-Pay-on-iPhone) and US PayPal Zettle and Venmo business users on 7 March 2024 [10](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2024-03-07-Tap-to-Pay-on-iPhone-Now-Available-for-Venmo-and-PayPal-Zettle-Businesses-in-the-U-S).
• PayPal Point of Sale. PayPal is renaming the product PayPal Point of Sale; its help centre says the products and services are not changing [4](https://www.paypal.com/uk/cshelp/article/help1235). The Swedish payment terms, in force since 9 September 2025, are now issued under that name [18](https://www.zettle.com/se/villkor/betaltjanst/).

Ownership & operator

Zettle is a brand of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) [2](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2018-09-20-PayPal-Completes-Acquisition-of-iZettle). Before the sale, iZettle's largest shareholders were Zouk Capital, Index Ventures and 83North [1](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/PayPal-Expands-Global-Platform-with-Acquisition-of-iZettle).

The merchant's contract is now with a PayPal entity, not with iZettle AB:

• In Sweden (terms effective 9 September 2025) it is PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A. (R.C.S. Luxembourg B 118 349), a Luxembourg credit institution supervised by the CSSF [18](https://www.zettle.com/se/villkor/betaltjanst/).
• In the UK it is PayPal UK Ltd, authorised by the FCA as an electronic money institution (firm reference number 994790) [24](https://www.zettle.com/gb/legal/payment-terms-and-conditions/).

Technical integration

What the payer sees depends on the merchant's hardware:

Hardware	What the shopper does	Source
PayPal Reader (ex-Zettle Reader, touchscreen; Bluetooth or USB-C to the merchant's phone or tablet)	Inserts or taps a card, phone or watch	[12](https://www.zettle.com/gb/payments/card-reader)
Terminal (all-in-one, SIM + Wi-Fi)	Taps or inserts on the handheld device	[8](https://newsroom.uk.paypal-corp.com/2021-10-27-PayPal-launches-Zettle-Terminal-in-the-UK)
Tap to Pay on a compatible iPhone or Android phone	Taps a contactless card, phone or wearable on the merchant's phone	[5](https://www.zettle.com/gb/about-us)
QR on the POS screen	Scans a code with the PayPal or Venmo app	[6](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2020-12-09-PayPal-launches-touch-free-payments-in-store-with-iZettles-point-of-sale-app-to-support-UK-businesses-post-lockdown) [16](https://www.paypal.com/us/business/pos-system/pricing)

• PayPal QR (partial). In the UK the POS app shows a dynamic QR code for each sale, and the customer confirms the amount in the PayPal app [6](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2020-12-09-PayPal-launches-touch-free-payments-in-store-with-iZettles-point-of-sale-app-to-support-UK-businesses-post-lockdown). The UK price list now offers PayPal QR Codes only to sellers who signed up before 8 May 2023 [11](https://www.zettle.com/gb/pricing). In the US, PayPal and Venmo QR codes are a standard payment type [17](https://www.paypal.com/us/business/pos-system).
• Venmo QR (full, US only). QR code transactions are priced like card-present ones in the US [16](https://www.paypal.com/us/business/pos-system/pricing).
• Nordic mobile payments. The current price lists show Swish in Sweden [13](https://www.zettle.com/se/priser), Vipps in Norway [14](https://www.zettle.com/no/priser) and MobilePay in Denmark [15](https://www.zettle.com/dk/priser) as payment types at 0 kr per transaction. In Denmark, MobilePay is not supported once the cash-register function is switched on [15](https://www.zettle.com/dk/priser). These are the Swish and Vipps MobilePay wallets; the sources do not say whether the payer scans a code or enters a number.
• Apps. The merchant app is listed as "PayPal POS (ex Zettle)" on the App Store and Google Play (read 21 Oct 2026).

Users & growth

PayPal does not report Zettle's merchant count or volume separately.

• 2017: hundreds of thousands of small businesses in twelve countries, with about 1,000 joining a day [23](https://www.realtid.se/bors-finans/izettle-integrerar-danska-och-norska-swish-losningar/).
• 2018: nearly half a million merchants. PayPal expected about $6 billion of total payment volume in 2018 and gross revenue of about $165 million, after roughly 60% compound annual growth over 2015–2017 [1](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/PayPal-Expands-Global-Platform-with-Acquisition-of-iZettle).
• 2023: more than 90% of UK Zettle transactions were contactless, PayPal UK's managing director said [9](https://newsroom.uk.paypal-corp.com/Zettle-by-PayPal-launches-Tap-to-Pay-on-iPhone).

Use cases

• Small-shop and market-stall card acceptance. UK retailers, florists and cafés were the named users at the PayPal QR launch [6](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2020-12-09-PayPal-launches-touch-free-payments-in-store-with-iZettles-point-of-sale-app-to-support-UK-businesses-post-lockdown).
• Side hustles on a phone. Tap to Pay was pitched at individual sellers who take payments without buying a reader [9](https://newsroom.uk.paypal-corp.com/Zettle-by-PayPal-launches-Tap-to-Pay-on-iPhone).
• Omnichannel selling. In the US, in-person and online sales are managed in one PayPal business account, with links to BigCommerce, Lightspeed, QuickBooks Online and SalesVu [7](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-06-30-PayPal-Brings-PayPal-Zettle-to-the-U-S-Its-Digital-In-Person-and-Omnichannel-Solution).
• A tax-compliant till for local mobile payments. In Sweden, Swish sales are recorded in the same cloud till as card sales [21](https://www.realtid.se/bors-finans/izettle-tar-nu-emot-swish-betalningar/).

Implementations & partners

• Bank partner: Banco Santander, for the 2013 Brazil launch [20](https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/izettle-goes-live-in-brazil).
• Software partners (US): BigCommerce, Lightspeed, QuickBooks Online, SalesVu [7](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-06-30-PayPal-Brings-PayPal-Zettle-to-the-U-S-Its-Digital-In-Person-and-Omnichannel-Solution).
• Payment methods: major cards and mobile wallets, including American Express, at one rate [11](https://www.zettle.com/gb/pricing); PayPal and Venmo QR [17](https://www.paypal.com/us/business/pos-system); Swish, Vipps and MobilePay in the Nordics [13](https://www.zettle.com/se/priser) [14](https://www.zettle.com/no/priser) [15](https://www.zettle.com/dk/priser).

Fun facts

• iZettle had tried to register "Zettle" as a trademark as early as 2016 but withdrew the application, possibly because "ZETTLER" was already registered in the same class [3](https://www.mobiletransaction.org/izettle-rebrands-to-zettle-by-paypal/).

Comparison

UK in-person card fees, read 21 Oct 2026:

Product	Owner	Standard in-person rate	Pay-by-app QR at the till	Source
Zettle / PayPal POS	PayPal	1.75% (cards and mobile wallets)	PayPal QR, sellers signed up before 8 May 2023	[11](https://www.zettle.com/gb/pricing)
SumUp	SumUp	1.69% (pay-as-you-go, £0/month)	—	[25](https://www.sumup.com/en-gb/pricing/)
Square	Block	1.75% (UK cards)	—	[26](https://squareup.com/gb/en/pricing)

For a merchant the headline card fees are close. Zettle's difference is the PayPal link: sales settle into a PayPal business account [5](https://www.zettle.com/gb/about-us), and the till also takes PayPal and Venmo QR in the US and Swish, Vipps and MobilePay in the Nordics.

Status

Active, under a new name. Zettle's own pages read "Zettle is now PayPal Point of Sale" (read 21 Oct 2026) [5](https://www.zettle.com/gb/about-us). Country sites remain live for Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Mexico, while the Brazil site carries only the 2023 closure notice [19](https://www.zettle.com/br). In the US the product sells as the PayPal POS system, with the Terminal at $199 [16](https://www.paypal.com/us/business/pos-system/pricing).

Sources

Source

Biography extracted from paypal-pos.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.