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03 For whom we thrive

Merchant interviews – Angus and
Toni from SumUp conducting a
field study with a merchant

46 The SumUp Brand Book

From whom we thrive 47

3.1
Our merchants

The Everyday Heroes Who they are
Our Everyday Heroes are the millions
Our merchants are the of merchants that are too small for most
heart of our business. It’s providers to care about. They are as much
important we understand as 10 times smaller than the smallest
who they are and what businesses that would be targeted by
drives them so we can banks and traditional providers. While
continually help them they are businesses in every sense of
achieve their goals. the word, they often behave more like
consumers in that they are one-man
bands who work alone and make business
decisions by themselves.

They might be experts in their field, but
when it comes to technology and finance,
they don’t necessarily have the expertise
or experience that you would find in a
larger company.

48 The SumUp Brand Book

We want to take one part of what they have Their strengths
to do and make it simple for them. So that Brave
they can get on with doing what they love Resilient
to do. That’s why our purpose at SumUp Inspiring
is to empower small merchants all over Community servants
the world. Adaptive
Energetic
Our merchants are all types of small Passionate
business owners from coffee shops or taxi
drivers to dentists or street musicians. Their
diversity is key to who we are, and while
they are all different, they all have one thing
in common: they all had the courage to
take the leap to start their own business.
We respect them for that.

From whom we thrive 49

3.2 Our brand characteristics
When we reach out
We’re passionate about staying true to our
purpose – empowering small merchants.
Our characteristics should be identifiable
in any communication we have with the
outside world. From our visual language
to the tone of voice in our written work, we
should have them at hand and make sure
they are present in all communications.

Using these attributes as a foundation,
we need to ensure that SumUp always feels
like SumUp and we communicate in a way
that is consistent and true to our brand. Our
set of brand characteristics defines the way
in which we want our audience to perceive
SumUp:

Sumup provided POS registers
to facilitate payments at Berlin
Marathon Expo 2018.

50 The SumUp Brand Book

Trusted Inclusive
secure & reliable approachable

As a payment provider, SumUp is respon- SumUp was created for those who
sible for processing hundred of thousands have been left out of traditional
of merchants’ transactions every day. card payment solutions. Whether our
Ensuring these transactions are handled merchants are brewing coffee or fixing
safely is integral to the long-lasting cars, we make technology that anyone
relationship we have with our merchants. can use – even your great aunt!

To guarantee a high level of security we We can’t survive without our merchants
manage everything in-house. From designing so we work hand-in-hand with them to
the hardware to offering the best customer achieve mutual success.
service, we control the entire process.

From whom we thrive 51

Our brand characteristics

Honest
not greedy

The financial services industry is full
of hidden fees and contractual lock-ins.
We are different. We are here for the millions
of businesses out there who want some-
thing different. We are not greedy, provide
fair pricing for everyone and genuinely
care for our merchants’ success.

Modern
not traditional

Technology is responsible for changing
people’s attitudes towards money and
their spending habits. However, the pay-
ment industry has struggled to keep up
with these changes. We bet on technol-
ogy to solve problems and provide a new
payment solution tailored to the needs of
small business owners. We are here to help
modernise businesses all over the world
by offering them a simple way to accept
card payments.

Intuitive

If people don’t understand how to use
our products, we fail on our promise. We
need to make technology that everyone
knows how to use, because anyone should
be able to use our products. The entire
process, from the paperless signup to
the first payment, has to be easy, smooth
and uncomplicated.

52 The SumUp Brand Book

Thomas from SumUp is
a “Merchant for a Day”

From whom we thrive 53

Tone of voice

We put merchants first

Each interaction with a merchant should Our merchants are busy, so making it
subtly reinforce our brand characteristics. easy for them to take card payments
In doing so, we create our unique tone and run their business is crucial. We love
of voice that sets us apart. We should to hear what our merchants think so we
use plain English, be consistent across make it easy for them to speak to us
channels and communicate with integrity. when they need to.

At SumUp we work in partnership with Our voice at SumUp is light-hearted
our merchants. When they succeed, we and helpful and also proud and expert.
do too. Therefore, building trust with our
merchants is key. We achieve this through It is…
the way we communicate with them. We • light-hearted but not silly
must ensure that the way we speak is clear • proud but not arrogant
while adapting the message to the means • expert but not bossy
through which it is delivered. • helpful but not overbearing

54 The SumUp Brand Book

While our tone is informal, this may not
be appropriate for all our markets. It has
to be localised in such a way that is
sensitive to the norms within the country.

From whom we thrive 55

A merchant joyfully shows
Toni a thank you card for
her customer during a
product interview

56 The SumUp Brand Book

3.3
The human behind
the business

Although we are communicating with
businesses, we need to remember that
we’re really talking to individuals. Often,
just one person – the typical SumUp
merchant works by themselves. In other
words, it’s more a business-2-human
than business-2-business communication.

There are a number of human characters
that are typical of our business owners.
The key to successful communication
with them is understanding their strengths
as well as their struggles.

To them, SumUp needs to be a reliable tool
that they can use to help them get their job
done. We need to support them and help
them focus on what’s important and the
part of their job they enjoy. Furthermore,
becoming a SumUp merchant will give
them access to a wide community of other
similar businesses who share passions and
struggles. Another central element of our
communication is to convey a sense of
trust. SumUp is about empowering them to
be able to fulfil their ambitions while taking
care of the more technical yet central
tasks of running a business.

From whom we thrive 57

3.4
Featured merchant stories

58 The SumUp Brand Book

01 Meierei
02 VinoKilo
03 WIDDA
04 Taitiana

From whom we thrive 59

Meierei

Sandra is the owner of Meierei,
a café in Berlin that serves
delicacies from the Alps region.

“30% to 40% of our customers
pay by card. The terminal has
become a really important
tool on our counter.”

Sandra,
owner of Meierei

60 The SumUp Brand Book

01

Sandra opened Meierei as she wanted 61
to give people a place where they could
meet friends, experience the pleasure of
drinking a proper cup of coffee or enjoy
fresh food from the Alps regions of Germany,
Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy.

Running her own business is Sandra’s
passion. It allows her to use her creativity
and make her own decisions, while offering
her guests a unique culinary experience.
The café doesn’t have a typical customer.
People from every part of society come
through their doors – young, old, hipsters,
families. This makes each day interesting
and unique. When Sandra opened Meierei,
she knew there would be lots of things to
think about and organise. It was important
for her to be able to offer her customers
the ability to pay by card. Banks in the area
are closing, and people carry less cash so
it’s fantastic that she can offer this facility
to the people who visit her cafe.

For whom we thrive

SumUp is a big hit with everyone. Staff When you start your own business lots of
at the café think it’s great and so easy to people will give you advice. Some you’ll use,
use and their customers like it too. They some you’ll ignore. Sandra says the piece
think it’s cute and modern. Sandra adds, of advice she would give someone who is
“As it accepts contactless payment, it thinking of setting up their own business is
has become a really important tool on “Think through the concept, focus on a few
our counter.” things, be passionate about what you do
and last but most importantly, go for it!”

62 The SumUp Brand Book

02 VinoKilo

Robin is the founder of VinoKilo, a vintage
pop-up that travels across Europe. In 2.5
years VinoKilo has given 81,000 kg of
clothing a new life.

Robin, founder
of VinoKilo

For whom we thrive 63

Founder Robin proclaims, “We don’t
say sell, we say give a new life”. VinoKilo
was founded to give people an opportunity
to buy second-hand clothes as first-hand
fashion, at scale.

Sustainability is at the heart of VinoKilo.
When discussing pollution, most people
imagine big oil companies as the main culprit.
However, the fashion industry is one of the
most polluting industries there is, with all
the different processes from collecting
raw materials, to cleaning, transport and
eventually disposing (or not disposing)
of them.

At a typical VinoKilo event, they expect to
see around 2000 people. This means
that they need to be well organised and
structured. Every event is set up with a
flow in mind, from the entrance, to the
clothing racks, to the weighing and paying.
So SumUp helps a lot with speed, keeping
people moving at a good pace and not
having to spend a lot of time at the checkout.

They’ve already had a lot of success using
SumUp because customers never know
what they’re going to find at an event, so
having the option to pay by card means
that people don’t need to worry about
having the right amount of cash, or having
to choose between two or three items,
“That’s the beauty of vintage clothes
shopping!”

64 The SumUp Brand Book

“Having the option to pay by
card means that people don’t
need to worry about having the
right amount of cash, or having
to choose between two or
three items.”

For whom we thrive 65

66 The SumUp Brand Book

For whom we thrive 67

WIDDA

Olga is the founder of WIDDA, a fashion
brand that makes sustainable clothes.
She has a studio and a shop in Berlin.

Olga, designer and
founder of WIDDA

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03

O lga has been obsessed with fashion Running your own business is a lot of hard
since she was young. At the age work, particularly if you’re doing it by your-
of six she was sketching and sewing by self. Olga says “You have to be prepared to
hand. At twelve she was using a sewing get your hands dirty – literally. Lifting stock,
machine to make her own clothes. After taking out the rubbish and cleaning. You
graduating with a Diploma in Fashion, have to be prepared to do it all.”
Olga knew she didn’t want to work for a
large fashion brand. She received a start- SumUp was recommended to Olga by one
up scholarship from her university and of her employees, and it has transformed
founded her business in 2007. the way they do business. Olga says, “Our
customers love being able to pay by card.
WIDDA’s customers are locals and tourists, They feel safer as they don’t have to carry
people who love fashion and who appreci- around large sums of cash with them. They’re
ate that all the clothes they sell are made even more surprised at how quickly it works.”
by hand from fair-trade and sustainable
fabrics. They‘re looking for something This means Olga spends less time on the
different. They go to WIDDA because they mundane process of taking payments and
know they can find unique pieces which more time on taking care of her customers
they won’t find in other shops. and enjoying her work.

For whom we thrive 69

“Not everyone carries lots
of cash on them. Having
the card reader means they
don’t have to find a cash
machine and as it accepts
all cards, there’s never
a problem.”

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For whom we thrive 71

Tatiana 04

Tati is the owner of a massage and
body therapy salon in São Paulo.

Tati, body therapist
72 The SumUp Brand Book

People who see Tati at work today would
never be able to imagine that years ago
she spent her time on Brazil’s most beautiful
beaches earning money from underwater
photography.

When Tati figured out her dream was
to work in body therapy, her next move
became clear; she had to change her life
and start her own business.

Her change in course happened after
attending a professional massage therapy
session. It was there she realised what she
had to do; “It was as if life had sent me a
calling. That massage was unforgettable,
and I decided that I would drop everything
to become a body therapist.“

After her epiphany, Tati went on to study
massage techniques and traditional
Chinese medicine. When she opened
her business, she wanted to give her
customers an intimate and welcoming
environment to relax in. “Everyone is
greeted with cookies and teas made
with herbs from my own garden.”

For whom we thrive 73

Accepting card payments was a strategic
step made to gain more customers. Initially,
people were only paying for a few massage
sessions. After buying her SumUp Card
Reader Tati was able to sell packages of
up to ten massages. The reason was
simple; her customers could pay large
amounts in instalments, and Tati received
the money quickly for only a small fee.
“Being able to accept cards is amazing
for customers and for me.”

74 The SumUp Brand Book

“I’m now able to make bigger
sales at once. If before I sold
only two massages, today
I’m able to offer packs of
10 at once. It’s great for
customers and for myself.”

For whom we thrive 75

04 Key contacts



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Our offices

Amsterdam
Berlin
Boulder
Cologne
Copenhagen
Dublin
Kiev
London
Santiago de Chile
São Paulo
Sofia
Warsaw

For marketing enquiries Europe:
[email protected]

For marketing enquiries Brazil:
[email protected]

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SumUp POS at Berlin
Marathon Expo 2018





A better way to get paid.







A better way to get paid.