Contactless payments are on the rise. During its earnings call, MasterCard announced that 50% of global in-person transactions are now contactless. In other words, contactless payments make up one in two transactions. Consumers and merchants alike prefer contactless payments because they are fast, safe, and convenient.
People are now looking for more contact-free interactions with merchants and prefer to use their smartphones as a wallet and a payment acceptance device. Small businesses especially, which rely on in-person interactions, are affected by this trend.
According to a 2021 Nilson report, the number of POS terminals shipped worldwide grew by 8% in 2020. Notaby, mobile POS terminals (mPOS) made up 40% of the 135 million POS terminals shipped that year – a sign of the need to freely move about in-store, or off-site to allow customers to make payments. With contactless payments set to continue its growth, the price hike in semiconductors will affect the supply and delivery of new POS or mPOS hardware.
Software-based point-of-sale (SoftPOS) can easily circumvent that challenge to meet the growing demand for contactless payments. Taking these trends together with Apple’s launch of Tap to Pay on iPhones, SoftPOS is gaining traction in the multi-billion dollar market.
What does this mean for merchants? What does it take for merchants to ride this new trend?
SoftPOS enables merchants to accept contactless payments, without having to purchase additional hardware. With SoftPOS apps, merchants can use their Near-Field Communication (NFC)-equipped Android phones as POS terminals by simply downloading a SoftPOS application. And with the upcoming Tap to Phone on iPhones, merchants will have many technology choices to meet their own unique needs.
A customer can pay for their purchases on the merchant's phone by tapping their card or mobile wallet. Each transaction is sent to the relevant card scheme, such as Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, JCB, and UnionPay, for processing.
To meet the demands of the digital payment revolution, software developers can design innovative and secure SoftPOS payment solution apps. In addition to providing integrated and omnichannel solutions to merchants, payment service providers can offer customers innovative services that enrich their shopping experiences.
A payment service provider based in Asia recently launched a SoftPOS app using MineSec SDK to help merchants accept payments anywhere without additional hardware. SoftPOS is an ideal software solution for all merchants. Aside from supporting multiple payment options such as cash, contactless credit cards, and QR codes, the app also provides merchants with real-time data, such as inventory data and sales, so they can analyze their business performance quickly.
In 2022, contactless payments will continue to grow as more people travel for leisure and business thanks to easing pandemic-related restrictions. Customers expect the convenience and speed of contactless payments. For merchants, not having contactless acceptance means losing business opportunities.