Sluggish fixed point-of-sale (POS) terminal sales are forcing providers to rethink their strategies. From adding softPOS capabilities to adding AI tools and vertical-specific offerings, POS software is becoming the real competitive battleground.

It’s is betting that hardware rollouts and vertically integrated offerings can stave off competitors.

The explosion of softPOS is reshaping the POS landscape and forcing hardware and software providers to pivot

But its verticalized offerings may struggle to stand out in the crowded field

In the third of five reports in our “Payments Ecosystem 2024” collection, we unpack how the lines between POS hardware and software are disappearing as providers push the innovation envelope.

Payment service providers competing to serve small and medium-sized businesses have a new opportunity to win them over with cutting-edge payment, cash flow, capital, and marketing tools.

Fiserv’s Tap to Pay on iPhone rollout and ACI’s expansion into larger merchants open up a big growth opportunity for these providers

This second installment of the “Payments Ecosystem” collection unpacks how point-of-sale (POS) hardware, software, and payment gateway services are becoming increasingly intertwined as merchants adapt to economic turmoil and consumer payment changes.

It launched Tap to Pay on Android a year after it signed on to deploy Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone—helping feed demand for softPOS and contactless payments.

By 2026, nearly 30% of US consumers’ average retail spending (excluding food and beverage sales and ticketing) will be made using proximity mobile payments, as providers look to build on the pandemic-driven adoption of the technology.

Increasing digitization among the 32 million US small businesses is changing the competitive landscape and forcing banks, acquirers, and fintechs to invest in next-generation features. These features range from payments and value-added services to outreach.

Stripe will be the first company to enable contactless payments acceptance on merchant customers’ iPhones.

The offering could pose a threat to mPOS hardware providers but helps Apple grab more in-store volume and bolsters its payments business.