Why digital devices are becoming POS terminals

Payments Cards & Mobile spoke to Grzegorz Nowakowski (GN), Co-founder and Vice President at SoftPos, to find out more about the use of digital devices as point-of-sale (POS) acceptance terminals – and why we’re going to see such devices proliferate rapidly in the next few years.

PCM: The use of digital devices like mobile phones and tablets as POS devices will be a new development for some our readers. What factors led to this development?

GN: Using digital devices as a payment terminal has come about thanks to three converging trends, the first of which is the incredible growth in the sophistication and computing power of mobile phones and tablets.

Alongside this, COVID-19 has accelerated a trend towards greater use of electronic payments versus cash – Worldline reported cash use dropped 32% last year, for example.

Finally, and as a result of that last trend towards electronic payment, many new merchants categories are looking to accept electronic payment for the first time – and they want to do so with fast set-up, low maintenance costs, flexible functionality and light, mobile hardware.

SoftPos is perfect for merchants who are new to electronic payment as it can be downloaded just like any other app. What’s more, updates – both for functionality and security purposes – can be readily undertaken over the air.

Set up is fast, and initial and ongoing costs are kept low because there’s no need to invest in a dedicated terminal which needs upgrading or replacing.

Also, a growing number of companies are looking to combine payments with other functions such as delivery confirmation, shipping/logistics, and inventory management.

Again, SoftPos is an ideal solution for such companies as these functions can be combined on a single device.

PCM: How did you come to create SoftPos? What’s been happening with the company?

GN: SoftPos was founded in early 2019 and has made enormous progress since. We were formed from a consulting company with 25 years’ experience of advising various payment schemes on their activities. Once we identified the opportunity for a low-cost, easy-to-use payments solution via mobile device, we decided to develop the product ourselves.

The first merchants began to use our solution in Poland around July 2020 as part of an implementation with Worldline.

In the months following this first implementation there was more interest from merchants which resulted in further implementations in other countries.

We are now present in 9 EU countries and expect to be able to announce launch of SoftPos in new markets around the world over the next few months.

PCM: How does your product function, and what are the advantages of the SoftPos solution compared to traditional terminals?

GN: SoftPos is a mobile payment terminal in the form of an Android app which works exactly like a traditional terminal.

The app allows merchants to accept contactless payments with cards or their virtual equivalents, either virtual cards or digital wallets such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Garmin Pay and others.

Our app can serve as a standalone app or white-label solution and may be installed on both commercial devices and specialist hardware designed for couriers, restaurants, ticket sellers, street vendors, etc.

Those companies already using the latest version of our app have noticed that the security of being able to use a PIN during the transaction process, alongside the convenience of contactless, improves conversion rates as customers appreciate the additional security features.

Companies using our app have also told us their customers are looking for new, safe payments acceptance solutions that respond to their needs for fast, easy and secure ways to pay.

PCM: What does a company require in order to use the SoftPos app?

GN: The only requirements are an Android 8.0 or higher Operating System, internet access and an NFC chip.

SoftPos holds security certificates from various payment organizations, including Mastercard and VISA. Those certificates guarantee the highest level of security during each transaction processed using our app.

PCM: Finally, what are the next steps? Where does SoftPos go from here in terms of its plans for the future, and what do you see happening in the market?

GN: In terms of what happens next in the market, we’ll see the widespread implementation of SoftPos solutions around the world – both in smaller merchants such as street vendors, ticketing and restaurants, and in big logistics, shipping and delivery companies that want to combine payments with other functions.

For us as a company, we have established plans to enter new markets and will be making further announcements about this in the months ahead. We’re also expanding the functionality of the SoftPos app, and our recent announcement that PINs can now be used for contactless transactions over the app is one example of the expanded functionality you’re going to see in the future.

Lastly, we are considering an Initial Public Offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Overall, we see an exciting period of expansion ahead – not just for our company, but for the market as a whole.

You can learn more about SoftPos at www.softpos.eu