SumUp, an international mobile payments technology company with operations in Germany and Britain, has decided to close its Dublin headquarters just 18 months after it opened, with the loss of about 30 jobs.

The company last week wrote to other firms in the technology and software sectors to say it would be holding a jobs fair at its Dublin office on May 13th.

Cutting costs
"SumUp is an industry leader in mobile card payments, but due to cost-cutting measures, a decision has been made to close the Dublin office," according to the note, which ended with the contact details of SumUp's Ireland country manager Thomas O'Reilly. He did not return a call for comment at the weekend.

“The Dublin office is staffed by extremely capable software development, operations and support personnel, who are now looking for new opportunities,” the note said, before listing the names and qualifications of its staff.

SumUp developed a smartphone and tablet app for traders that allowed them process credit and debit card transactions. The businesses use a card reader attached to the smartphone or other device, turning them into small till screens.

IDA backing
SumUp announced the opening of its Dublin operation, with backing from IDA Ireland, in late 2012 and said it would employ up to 40 people.

The company raised about $20 million (€14.4 million) of venture capital funding to roll its product out across about 10 European markets.

Its German managing director said at the time of the launch that Ireland was a useful “test bed” for its product, and that it had chosen to set up here because it was able to find skilled software developers.

SumUp has previously been described as a European version of Square, the company set up by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.