SoftPOS: Can Mobile POS in the Field Really Be That Easy?

SoftPOS allows delivery drivers, outside sales, technicians, and other field workers to accept contactless payments on the same mobile device that they use to access essential business applications. Although employees could use personal mobile devices to accept contactless payments with SoftPOS, a company-issued device allows the business to maintain control over what runs on the device and standardize devices for easier management and maintenance. SoftPOS adoption is predicted to grow significantly in Canada through 2030, for field services and other use cases, including retail, restaurant, consumer services, and taxi/transport.

Software-based point of sale (SoftPOS) solves a common challenge for field services and mobile businesses: How to accept contactless payments. Accepting payments on-site is the best way to get funds into the business’s account, eliminating the time and expense of invoicing and the delay until the customer pays. It’s also more convenient for customers, particularly if they can use a mobile wallet or contactless card to pay. Chase reports that more than 63% of all in-store payments in Canada are contactless, with about one-quarter of them with mobile wallets.

Accepting payments in the field, however, has traditionally required carrying a mobile point of sale (mobile POS) terminal in addition to a device that delivery drivers, outside sales, and technicians use for the jobs. With SoftPOS, employees use one device for their entire workflow.

How SoftPOS Works for Field Services

SoftPOS applications allow merchants to accept contactless payments directly on mobile devices that their employees regularly use. The merchant works with a payment processing partner to add SoftPOS payments to their merchant services, loads the SoftPOS application onto devices, and their employees can begin accepting payments in just a few minutes. When it’s time to pay, the consumer taps a contactless card or mobile wallet on the employee’s mobile device. The SoftPOS application takes care of processing and then sends an approval (or decline) to the employee. The platform allows the employee to send digital receipts to customers for a streamlined, paper-free, sustainable transaction.

Should Companies Rely on Commercial Off-the-Shelf or Company-Owned Devices?

Merchants can compliantly accept payments on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices, like Android or iOS tablets or smartphones. The Payment Card Industry Mobile Payments on COTS (MPoC) Standard addresses security requirements for SoftPOS, helping merchants to protect payment data when using any compatible mobile device for this payment method.

While it is possible for an employee to transform a personal device into a mobile point of sale, there is a downside. Because SoftPOS relies on consumer mobile devices, durability is dependent on the condition of the employee's device. Unlike purpose-built payment terminals, consumer devices are more susceptible to screen damage and hardware failures, which could impact payment acceptance availability in the field. Furthermore, if a personal device breaks when the employee is using it for work, there can be a conflict over who pays for the replacement. And, in general, employees may not want to use their personal devices for work.

Another model is for the company to issue a device with essential features to employees. The company can load the SoftPOS app onto the device in addition to apps the employee needs, such as scheduling, messaging, or customer relationship management (CRM). The company also retains control over which apps are running on the device and access control to add a layer of data security. Standardizing on one device from a trusted manufacturer also makes ongoing support and maintenance easier and more cost-effective.

SoftPOS Is the Future of Payments

While SoftPOS is a valuable solution for companies and organizations with mobile workforce who accept contactless payments, this payment technology has a much wider range of use cases. Beauty salons, spas, and personal trainers can use a mobile device with a SoftPOS app to schedule appointments and take payments on one device without forcing customers to wait in a queue. Taxi drivers and shared ride providers can use SoftPOS to give passengers a quick and convenient way to pay on the same device they use for dispatch and communications. SoftPOS also gives small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a practical, cost-effective way to accept contactless payments at the counter or throughout the store or restaurant. In addition, SoftPOS can become a payment solution for retail as a failover for businesses of all sizes, allowing them to continue to accept contactless payments over cellular networks if there are disruptions to their store networks.

KBV Research predicts that the Canadian SoftPOS market will see a phenomenal 21.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2030. Analysts point out that simplifying and expediting mobile POS setup and allowing merchants to meet consumers’ expectations for contactless payment acceptance are driving adoption.

Ingenico offers purpose-built devices that allow companies to equip their teams with a single device that runs all the business apps and SoftPOS capabilities they need for streamlined, secure, efficient workflows. To learn more about the simple way to implement mobile POS with Ingenico SoftPOS, contact us.