The feature allows faster and more convenient way to pay without the need to insert a PIN or card.

South Africa. The rising incidences of coronavirus cases and growing adoption of smart devices has escalated the demand for contactless transactions. More and more consumers and businesses have been increasingly opting to go cashless. Approx. 75% of participants were opting for cashless and contactless payment methods due to safety and hygiene precautions, as per the Mastercard consumer sentiment study conducted during the early stages of Pandemic. Recently, the newly established Fintech Start-up firm has launched its mobile tap-to-play function to enable customers for making secure and contactless payments on point-of-sale (POS) terminals, eliminating the need to use physical cards that can lead to contamination.

The Tap-to-Pay feature utilizes NFC software that enables users to make payment with just a tap to complete the transaction. Unlike dipping, tap and go feature in mobile wallets do not require inserting PIN or signature every time you make a purchase.  The new feature is available for android device users who use Spot app on their phones to conduct safe, secure, and contactless transactions at POS terminals. The mobile application works with Mastercard technology to make the payment. The mobile app is available for download on Google Play store, Apple, and Huawei App stores. 

Providing insights into the new feature, CEO, Spot Money commented, “Spot Android users now have the convenience of using the app as an alternative to their Spot Money Card. So, if you forget your wallet at home, you can just use your phone. This makes things easier and safer for our customers. E-commerce, home delivery, and peer-to-peer payments went through the roof; digital payments became the de facto standard. And it’s not just for the tech-savvy or millennials, either: this trend is for everyone.” He further added, “Tap-to-pay isn’t just physically safer: it’s also more secure. During transactions, your device never leaves your hand, and the nature of the encryption means every purchase has a unique set of data, which is protected at all times.”

TechSci research said, “The tap-and-go method is still quite new in terms of completing transactions due to less due to limited availability of the hardware to accept such payments. But tap-and-go seems to be the method of future with rapid expansion of contactless payment methods that does not require physical cards or insertion of PIN. With people wanting to spend less time in checkout lines and want to make purchases and move on, the contactless and wireless payment methods are likely to propel the Global POS Terminal Market in the forecast period.”

According to TechSci research report on “Global POS Terminal Market By Product Type (Fixed, Portable & mPOS), By Deployment (Cloud & On-Premise), By EMV Compliance (EMV & Non-EMV), By Industry (Retail, Travel & Hospitality & Others), By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2026”, Global POS terminal market is forecast to exhibit a CAGR of more than 9% during the forecast period of 2021-2026, growing from USD15 billion in 2019, owing to increasing use of Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) cards. Point of sale (POS) terminals are used for handling payments and checkouts. Modern POS terminals integrate multiple systems into a single terminal to manage operations such as printing, card payments, billing, and cash collection. Moreover, need for user-friendly, secure, and convenient payment options is bolstering the growth of global POS terminal market. Large number of debit and credit card transactions is pushing the demand for POS terminals among retailers and other end-users. Additionally, reduction in the cost of POS systems and government initiatives to promote cashless transactions in various countries are expected to fuel global POS terminal market in coming years.