How does a SoftPOS system work?

Making and accepting electronic payments is easy with SoftPOS technology. Micro-merchants and small-to-medium businesses are particularly in need of SoftPOS solutions. Software platforms and payment service providers that offer omnichannel solutions must also integrate SoftPOS.

During the post-pandemic period, NFC contactless payments became increasingly popular. The use of mobile devices for making contactless payments is increasing. In order to handle contactless payments, more businesses need to equip themselves with the necessary technologies.

How about payment terminals? Do they have any flaws? The answer is no. The terminal itself costs several hundred dollars as a separate piece of hardware. Additionally, the merchant is responsible for fulfilling and maintaining the terminal. Because of this, an SME’s acceptance of payments through a payment terminal solution takes time to cover its costs. Both in terms of cost and hardware, a SoftPOS solution seems more cost-effective.

What steps do merchants need to take to implement a SoftPOS solution?

It is possible to use a smartphone as a payment terminal if you do not want to invest in expensive payment terminals. Remember, the device (smartphone, tablet, or wearable) must have an inbuilt NFC circuit. A contactless payment terminal uses this circuit to read payment data, allowing it to act as a contactless terminal. The terminal management system (TMS) is indispensable to every terminal. An NFC-capable smartphone’s SoftPOS can therefore serve as a TMS. Many SoftPOS apps can be downloaded and installed for free. Because of this, small businesses in developing as well as developed countries are able to take advantage of SoftPOS options.

Android OS

This means those iPhone users would have to wait slightly longer. SoftPOS can only work on an NFC-enabled device, running on Android OS.

A SoftPOS application developed for Android works together with software designed for Android-based payment.

With regard to processing payments, mobile devices equipped with NFC offer a better alternative to payment terminals. Small and medium-sized businesses and micro-businesses reap the biggest benefits.

Would you like more information about our SoftPOS solutions? Feel free to explore UniRead, one of UniPay Gateway’s omnichannel payment gateway modules.