SoftPOS / Mobile Acceptance

Overview

SoftPOS turns a standard NFC-enabled Android device into a certified card acceptance terminal, removing the need for dedicated point-of-sale hardware for many merchant use cases. Pay Engineers builds SoftPOS solutions end to end, from the on-device acceptance application through to the backend processing and terminal management layer, engineered to meet the scheme security requirements that make this category viable.

SoftPOS is deceptively difficult to get right. The security architecture, particularly around PIN-on-glass entry, must satisfy strict scheme certification requirements, and the acceptance experience needs to work reliably for merchants who are often on the move, in areas of patchy connectivity, with limited technical support available in the moment.

We build with this operational reality in mind from the outset, rather than treating field conditions and connectivity issues as edge cases to handle after launch.

Who This Is For

• PSPs and acquirers wanting to offer merchants a low-cost alternative to traditional card terminals
• Field sales, delivery and service businesses that need to accept card payments away from a fixed checkout
• Micro-merchants and pop-up retailers for whom dedicated hardware is not commercially justifiable
• Businesses exploring SoftPOS as a way to reduce cost and complexity in their terminal fleet

What You Get

• A tap-to-pay user experience on commercial Android devices, designed for speed and clarity at the point of sale
• Terminal fleet operations tooling so you can provision, monitor and deactivate devices across your merchant base
• Offline resilience allowing transactions to be captured and safely queued when connectivity drops, then processed once restored
• Receipt and tipping functionality covering digital receipts and configurable tipping prompts where relevant

Technical Approach

The acceptance application is built natively for Android, integrating a certified SoftPOS SDK to handle the cryptographic and PIN-on-glass requirements that scheme certification demands. This part of the stack cannot be improvised: it must be built and tested against the specific certification requirements of the SoftPOS SDK and processor combination you use, and we manage that certification process as a core part of delivery.

The backend, built on Laravel, handles terminal fleet management, transaction processing coordination and reporting, with an HSM or equivalent secure cryptographic service protecting sensitive key material. Offline transaction queuing is implemented with careful attention to duplicate prevention and eventual consistency, so that a connectivity gap never results in a merchant being paid twice or a transaction silently lost.

Delivery Process

• Discovery of your merchant use cases, target devices and existing processor or acquirer relationship
• SoftPOS SDK and partner selection, followed by architecture design for the acceptance app and backend
• Sprint-based build of the acceptance application and fleet management backend in parallel
• Scheme and SDK certification testing, including PIN-on-glass security requirements and offline scenarios
• Pilot rollout with a controlled merchant group before wider fleet deployment

Outcomes and Benefits

• A materially lower-cost acceptance option for merchants compared with dedicated card terminal hardware
• Reliable acceptance even in the field conditions that traditional terminals struggle with
• Centralised operational control over a growing terminal fleet without proportional support overhead
• A certified, scheme-compliant foundation you can extend with new device types or acceptance features over time