As SoftPOS solutions are becoming more commonplace nowadays, it can be helpful to recognize the different phases of implementing SoftPOS technology. Suppose you are a merchant that wants to implement a SoftPOS solution instead or together with payment terminals or a manager that wants to ensure your SaaS platform has a SoftPOS solution available. In that case, this guide will be very useful to read.
Before the SoftPOS
The original method for accepting credit card payments was by swiping through a payment terminal. Through years of technological advancements, silicon-integrated circuits eventually allowed for EMV payments to take precedence. This eventually led to EMV-compliant POS terminals becoming widespread globally. This leads to the present day, where the development of NFC technology has led to the introduction of contactless payments.
Point of Sale Systems
In case you were wondering what SoftPOS is, it is an application installed onto an NFC-enabled device. This software allows the device to act as a contactless payment terminal by allowing the device to accept contactless payments. Due to this method’s ease and simplicity, handheld point-of-sale system solutions are becoming increasingly popular.
Advantages and Disadvantages
No Hardware
As previously discussed, one of the greatest strengths of a SoftPOS solution is the lack of specialization required to get the solution running. A simple smartphone or tablet is all that is necessary to start accepting contactless payments.
Account Limitations
Similar to NFC contactless payments, there are also contactless transaction limits for SoftPOS too. Usually, these limits include the number of transactions, payment frequency, or any differences in customer or merchant behavior.
SoftPOS Implementation Aspects
Acquiring a Partnership
This phase is similar to that of other payment gateway solutions. The first thing that must be done correctly is acquiring a successful partnership. Make sure that the acquiring bank issues merchant accounts and does the initial merchant background verification. It is also important that the acquirer is capable of processing card-present transactions and EMV certification.
PIN Encryption
In order to be able to use PINs on a SoftPOS device, an encryption key needs to be injected. Due to the encryption, the PIN is protected during the transaction process. Setting up PIN encryption is necessary to ensure secure transactions. There are several ways that PIN encryption can be done. One of the following sections goes into more detail on injection.
EMV Toolkit Selection
An EMV toolkit is required to be able to allow your device to process card-present transactions. The toolkit allows the processor to certify the device’s EMV kernel and allow card-present transactions via the EMV protocol. Some processors allow any EMV toolkit, while others are not so picky.
Processor Specification Review
This is usually the starting point of actual code development after the processor specifications have been checked. This is done to ensure that the processor can do all of the required duties.
Processor Integration
After the processor specifications have been verified, the integration process can begin. This is also when the development team integrates the gateway with the processor and any other necessary requirements from card brands into the application.
EMV Certification
Finally, this phase requires using an EMV toolkit to certify the EMV logic with the processor. After completing the certification process by verifying the test cases provided by the processor, the partnership can be finalized.
EMV Kernel
This is software on the terminal that allows for an EMV transaction to occur. Due to NFC access being very standardized for the Android OS, there is no need to develop the software from scratch and use third-party software.
Attestation
Proper attestation logic is necessary for the security of the device accepting payments. If malware was installed, the PIN or card numbers could be compromised during a transaction. This can be easily avoided by making sure the attestation logic is secure.
Android Terminals
Simply put, SoftPOS solutions are only capable of supporting NFC on Android-based devices. This means that if you wanted to utilize SoftPOS technology, you would also need to have the Android OS on your equipment.
However, there is no need to be discouraged since there is a plentiful amount of Android-based terminals on the market. Specific software, such as Sunmi, was created to run on Android-based terminals and can also be used as a SoftPOS app.
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