SoftPOS allows merchants to take Android and iOS devices with near-field communication (NFC) capability and turn them into payment acceptors. It just requires downloading the SoftPOS application and a few easy steps to configure an account. Then, merchants can begin accepting contactless and mobile wallet tap-to-pay payments on tablets, smartphones, or built-for-purpose mobile devices.
In the Pulse of Payments: Swipe Right on SoftPOS: Unlocking Payment Freedom episode, Anthony Walsh, Head of Retail Sales for Ingenico, shared his perspectives on SoftPOS’s potential. “We have these devices -- supercomputers - we put in our pockets every day. There are a lot of use cases that you could envision,”
Walsh explains that SoftPOS gives merchants a contactless payment acceptance option, but this technology offers even more value:
- Fewer Devices
Merchants don’t have to purchase and maintain separate payment terminals or devices to accept contactless payments. He points out that, as the world’s leading payment technology provider, it may seem counterintuitive that Ingenico would offer SoftPOS. “We’re trying to provide convenience and flexibility to our customers,” he explains. “We want to be the payments-forward company, not take it backwards. So we look forward, seeing a tremendous push for simplifying the retail landscape.”
- Card-Present Processing
Touch-free payment experiences that involve taking customers to an online payment page mean higher interchange fees. SoftPOS is a form of card-present payment, so merchants minimize processing fees.
- Flexibility
Walsh says more often, retailers want to engage customers where they are shopping rather than making them wait in line. And consumer demand has driven self-checkout implementations to offer more autonomy in shopping experiences. SoftPOS gives retailers another option to optimize customer journeys by accepting contactless payments virtually anywhere inside or outside the store.
- SoftPOS Benefits Businesses of All Sizes
Walsh explains that the ability to accept payments with a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) device can solve a range of use cases across markets and industry segments.
- Small Businesses and Startups
Small and micro-businesses often have the least sophisticated technology for accepting payments compared to their larger competitors. SoftPOS allows businesses to use their tablets or smartphones to accept contactless payments securely, rather than maintaining a dongle or other dedicated payment device. SoftPOS also enables small merchants to accept rewards cards that consumers often prefer to use to earn airline miles, cash back, or discounts. With SoftPOS, even the smallest merchants can accept those cards and possibly capture more revenue and customer loyalty.
“What’s really slick about SoftPOS is the way we can customize these payment applications,” Walsh says. “It lets small businesses act like larger chains and compete on a more level basis.”
- Mobile Businesses
Food trucks and other mobile businesses can take payments wherever they sell. Additionally, instead of making card numbers vulnerable by taking them over the phone and writing them on paper, pizza delivery drivers can accept payment at the door with a COTS mobile device. SoftPOS can also be configured to allow customers to add tips.
- Restaurants
Walsh comments that restaurants struggle with several pain points when implementing pay-at-the-table processes. Rollout can be difficult, particularly if servers experience connectivity issues when they move to different parts of the restaurant or outdoor dining. It’s also a challenge for restaurants to afford and maintain numerous dedicated payment devices for use a challenging restaurant environment. SoftPOS will revolutionize pay at the table by allowing restaurants to use cost-effective COTS to accept payments.
- Enterprises
Large enterprises have typically deployed large numbers of mobile devices for tasks like inventory management and fulfilling online orders. With SoftPOS, these businesses can also use those devices to accept contactless payments. This solution gives them line-busting and in-aisle assistance capabilities without investing in new payment devices. It also gives them a backup that allows them to continue accepting payments if the network is down.
Walsh comments that this list is just the beginning. “Merchants will invent new ways to use SoftPOS,” he says.
- Be a Part of the Revolution
Walsh says that although SoftPOS is for contactless payment acceptance only, it can still satisfy the majority of payment use cases for many businesses and eliminate the need to roll out new payment hardware. Looking ahead just a few years, Walsh envisions that up to one quarter of all payments processed in the ecosystem will occur through SoftPOS applications.
The Pulse of Payments Series is sponsored by the Leaders in Payments Podcast and Ingenico. For more insights from Walsh, listen to the entire episode of Swipe Right on SoftPOS: Unlocking Payment Freedom.
