Definition
The POS / TPE / mPOS / SoftPOS family covers the solutions that let a merchant accept a card payment in person:
- POS (Point of Sale) — the generic "till" term, the whole checkout + payment ecosystem.
- TPE (Terminal de Paiement Électronique, the French term for an electronic payment terminal) — the dedicated physical terminal (Ingenico, Verifone, Castles): chip reader, NFC, screen, PIN pad.
- mPOS (mobile POS) — a mini Bluetooth reader driven by a smartphone app (SumUp, Square, Zettle).
- SoftPOS (software POS, or Tap to Pay) — the merchant's own phone becomes the NFC terminal, with no reader at all.
Quick comparison
| Traditional terminal | mPOS | SoftPOS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Full terminal | Mini reader + smartphone | Smartphone only |
| Upfront cost | €200–500 or €15–30/month | €30–80 | €0 |
| Typical MDR | 0.5–1.5% | 1.5–2.75% | 1.75–2.75% |
| Setup | 1 to 4 weeks | < 1 day | < 30 minutes |
| Acceptance | EMV + NFC + PIN | EMV + NFC + PIN | NFC only |
| Certification | PCI-PTS | PCI-PTS + PCI-DSS | PCI MPoC |
| Players | Ingenico, Verifone, Worldline | SumUp, Square, Zettle | Stripe, Adyen, Worldline |
The terminal: the historical standard
A terminal combines an EMV chip reader, an NFC antenna (since 2015), a secure PIN pad (PCI-PTS certified), a screen, connectivity (4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) and often a printer. Dominant brands: Ingenico (Worldline), Verifone, Castles, PAX, Newland.
mPOS: the small-merchant revolution
Launched by Square in the US (2010) and iZettle in Europe (2011, acquired by PayPal in 2018), mPOS democratised acceptance for small merchants, tradespeople and freelancers: no commitment or rental, a mobile app driving the Bluetooth reader, integrated management (catalogue, invoices, reporting) and acquiring included. Players in Europe: SumUp (the European leader), Zettle (PayPal), myPOS, Square, Smile&Pay.
SoftPOS / Tap to Pay: zero hardware
The most recent evolution (Android since 2020, iPhone since 2022): the merchant's phone sends and receives NFC, with no reader. Acceptance is limited to NFC (no chip insertion), with the PIN entered on screen via a software PIN pad certified to PCI MPoC (a PCI-SSC standard launched in 2022). Players in France: Stripe Tap to Pay, Adyen Tap to Pay, Worldline Tap on Mobile, myPOS Glass, SumUp Air Tap.
SoftPOS on iPhone: the Apple partnership
Long closed off, the iPhone opened up with Tap to Pay: first in the US (2022), then the UK (2023), France (November 2023) and other European countries in 2025. Limited to iPhone XS+ (iOS 16.4+), with certification of merchant apps and mandatory routing through a partner PSP (Stripe, Adyen, Worldline). The result: a delivery rider, a caterer or a market trader can accept a card or Apple Pay with their iPhone alone.
What these solutions are not
- Not a business account: a terminal must be tied to a payment account (with the acquiring PSP or a third party).
- Not a full till: the terminal handles only the payment; the till (catalogue, receipt, tax) belongs to POS software (Lightspeed, Tiller, L'Addition).
- Not universal: SoftPOS does not read the chip — for a card without NFC, a classic mPOS is needed.
- Not exempt from France's 2018 finance law: every merchant must use certified till software (NF525 or a vendor attestation), including for mPOS and SoftPOS.
Within the PSD2 ecosystem
All these devices apply card SCA: EMV PIN, NFC < €50 with counters, or a biometric wallet. The acquiring PSPs behind them (Stripe, Adyen, Worldline) handle 3DS2 for any associated MOTO or e-commerce payments.
Real-world examples
- Traditional terminal: a café, restaurant or bakery uses an Ingenico Move 5000 or a Verifone V200c rented from Worldline (€20–30/month + an MDR of 0.5–1.5%).
- mPOS: a freelancer or a food truck uses a SumUp Air (€29) or a Square Reader (€39), at ~1.75% per transaction, with no commitment.
- SoftPOS: with Stripe Tap to Pay on iPhone, a merchant turns on the feature from their dashboard and accepts a card over NFC with no hardware — €0 of equipment.
- Omnichannel: Adyen offers the same integration for terminals, mPOS, SoftPOS and e-commerce — all transactions in a single dashboard.
- Market: ~30 million terminals in Europe; mPOS accounts for 5–10% of the installed base, and SoftPOS still < 1% but growing fast since 2024.
- Hidden costs: a traditional terminal often needs a 4G SIM (€5–10/month); mPOS and SoftPOS rely on the smartphone's connectivity.
- Evolution: convergence of till + payment + accounting (Square, Lightspeed, Tiller), and SoftPOS that could replace most mPOS among the smallest merchants.