Point of Sale is Evolving But Current POS Systems Can Still Deliver!
Last year saw the launch of a new type of Point of Sale (POS) terminal called “Poynt”. It’s not just a POS terminal, but a whole new way of thinking and technology for how POS is developed further. It’s developer friendly to take advantage of newer technology and accepts EMV Cards as well as Android Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay.
From implementing online hotel software to effectively manage hotel businesses, to improving the level of customer service in restaurants, POS systems are proving to be an essential feature for any business. With the rise of technology, it only makes sense for businesses to take advantage of tools like these.
It’s important to consider who is behind this new POS technology. Osama Bedier, an ex Googler, worked on Google Wallet as while at Google. He was also the product development lead at PayPal. So he does have the experience and knowhow of the electronic payment industry. His company announced a series B funding round of $28 million to help it build and ship Poynt terminals before the end of this year.
The Poynt POS terminal team seems to have thought of everything and tried to make sure that it could accept all forms of payment types that may come up in the near future. The terminal is capable of accepting Near Field Communication (NFC) based payments. It can also accept traditional magnetic stripe credit cards as well as the newer EMV Cards. For the more tech savvy merchant, Poynt terminals can also read QR codes. It is a variation of similar tablet based POS systems. It has two touch enabled screens, one for the merchant and one for the customer. Without actually testing it out, it really does sound like an all in one POS terminal that will stay current over the next few years.
Related: Where is the Electronic Payments Industry Headed?
Poynt can also integrate with existing payment systems however small and simple to large and sophisticated as can be. PayPal and Square do not integrate well with other payment systems. You either use their equipment / system or don’t use them or have to jump through hoops to get some basic integration. So, Poynt does have a huge advantage here. Their target market is merchants who process between $50,000 to $10 million in yearly sales.
Terminal Compliance
Poynt is PCI-DSS, PCI PTS, and PA-DSS certified and is currently only available through banks. It has timed it’s release in the US market to coincide with the EMV Liability Shift, hoping that as merchants look to renew their card reading equipment, they may think about Poynt as an alternative. On October 1st Visa and MasterCard initiated a liability shift that would make merchants responsible for fraudulent card transactions that were made on non EMV equipped card readers.
Bottom Line
For merchants looking at POS terminals, there are many cheaper choices, instead of the Poynt terminal which comes at $299, that have already been tried and tested in the market. The initial investment does seems a little high but I guess we can only know how well Poynt will work out after seeing it in action for some time.
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