August 9, 2022
Current number of merchants using softPoS is 6 million
The numbers are largely driven by a rise in contactless payments, whose volume is also expected to jump from 195 billion in 2022 to 408 billion by 2027
A softPoS solution enables retailers to accept payments using an app on a smartphone without the need for any additional hardware
softPoS will be very helpful for small-sum and mobile merchants that must accept contactless transactions, but lack the need for high-cost dedicated terminals
The total number of merchants making use of software-only softPoS solutions will cross 34.5 million globally by 2027 an increase of 475% from 6 million in 2022, according to a statement released by the market research firm Juniper Research. The increase is driven by a rise in contactless payments, whose volume is also expected to jump from 195 billion in 2022 to 408 billion by 2027.
When more consumers accept contactless acceptance as a standard, smaller merchants and retailers are incentivized to adopt contactless-capable PoS solutions.The statement further added that merchants are expected to embrace softPoS technology as they facilitate savings by eliminating the need for additional hardware, and deploy mobility advantages over contactless PoS technology. The statement further said that softPoS vendors are recommended to look at targetting micro and mobile merchants who can them in designing solutions that meet their unique needs.
A softPoS solution enables retailers to accept payments using an app on a smartphone without the need for any additional hardware, compared to a mobile PoS (mPoS) and an Android PoS machine. SoftPoS terminals are comparatively cheaper than hardware-based POS, and offer greater convenience due to their size and mobility.
Among different partnerships, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had tied up with SBI Payments and also Turkey’s global payment solutions company – PayCore last year, for the launch of RuPay SoftPoS to ensure millions of Indian merchants can accept contactless payments up to INR 5,000 on their smartphones. Experts said that softPoS will be very helpful for small-sum and mobile merchants that must accept contactless transactions, but lack the need for high-cost dedicated terminals.