What do vendors at snack bars, kiosks, mobile stalls, pop-up stores, seasonal businesses, or small businesses in general have in common? They all have a smartphone. And with it, they can now accept card payments from their customers - without any additional hardware at all. All they need is the Sparkasse POS app, an Android smartphone (with NFC function and Internet connection) and a merchant contract.
Paying with girocard on smartphone for the first time
With the app we developed, it is now possible for the first time to make contactless payments with a girocard on a smartphone. Up to 50 euros even without PIN entry. The merchant enters the amount in the Sparkasse POS App (S-POS). An integrated calculator can be used to easily add up multiple items. Optionally, a tip can be added. For the payment itself, the merchant holds the smartphone to the card or the customer's smartphone. Project partners ensure the secure transfer of data and confirm the successful payment. If the customer wants a transaction receipt, he or she receives it by scanning a QR code from the merchant's smartphone or by e-mail.
Functions for easier merchant life
The S-POS app also offers functions for viewing and managing transactions, clearly presented analysis functions, the options to cancel payments and create credit notes, to store notes (as images and text) on transactions, a favorites selection where you can store up to 50 bestsellers for a quick checkout process, to create individual checkout cuts (e.g. at shift change) and much more.
New customer potential thanks to Sparkasse POS
The benefits for retailers are manifold: more and more consumers are on the move without cash. Cashless payments make it easier for them to consume and allow spontaneous purchases. This expands the customer base and, as a result, can increase sales. Checking out via smartphone reduces the risk of cash discrepancies and prevents counterfeit money from being accepted or stolen. Merchants do not incur any fixed monthly costs, as costs are only incurred per transaction. Merchants pay only a one-time setup fee.
Simple operation - complexity in the background
The special challenge in the implementation of this app lay in the interaction of the most diverse project participants. On the UX side, the app had to be optimized for use by small merchants. The approval requirements of the German banking industry as well as the credit card companies are strict. Nevertheless, we managed to make even the complex onboarding process as simple and understandable as possible for the merchants.
Security for all involved
Security is a top priority for the client S-Payment (a subsidiary of the Deutscher Sparkassenverlag DSV Group). For this reason, additional measures have been taken for entering the personal identification number (PIN). PIN entry is required for payments over 50 euros or, in individual cases, for smaller amounts. In the S-POS app, the field for entering the PIN is displayed at a different position on the screen for each transaction. These and other measures make it much more difficult for potential attackers to spy on pressed digits based on their coordinates or fingerprint.
Further information on S-POS at: Sparkasse POS
The Sparkasse POS app is available for Android smartphones and Samsung tablets.
