Mastercard, SumUp Partner To Expand ePayments Across Europe

A new partnership between Mastercard and SumUp aims to boost electronic payment acceptance locations across 27 European countries.

Over the next five years, Mastercard and SumUp will bring card acceptance to several million micro, small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) across Europe, Mastercard announced in a press release on Thursday (July 25).

MSMEs will be able to accept electronic payments using SumUp card readers or digital devices like smartphones or wristbands.

“We’re very excited to be able to partner with SumUp, an innovative and leading player in the provision of payment devices for the small business sector,” said Jason Lane, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Europe. “The scale and breadth of this partnership will significantly advance electronic payments acceptance in Europe.”

Cash is still king in Europe, especially when it comes to low-value payments made to small businesses. Mastercard and SumUp are committed to helping MSMEs make payments safer, easier and more convenient by delivering simple and effective payment solutions.

“There is a card acceptance gap that exists due to smaller businesses historically not being well-served by traditional payment providers,” said Marcel Schneider, CCO & EVP Europe at SumUp. “10% of any population should be able to accept card payments, but only around 1% does. It’s this gap that SumUp and Mastercard are looking to fill through the partnership.”

Accepting electronic payments has been demonstrated to increase sales. SumUp’s data shows that small businesses can grow up to 60% by starting to accept card payments.

Mastercard’s research shows that on average, new acceptors of card payments usually see a 10-15% increase in their average transaction size. This is a particular issue for small shop owners in more remote rural areas where access to cash and ATMs can be scarce. Mastercard is continuing to work on B2B payments automation and replace the paper checks that makeup 51 percent of corporate payments.