Digital Transactions
“One of the biggest drivers of merchant interest in SoftPOS is the elimination of hardware and leasing costs, which have historically been one of the biggest barriers of entry for [small merchants] and micro merchants, and one of the fundamental problems Square initially set to solve with their original dongles that put them on the map,” notes Alex Ferguson, a senior research analyst at The Strawhecker Group, an Omaha-based consulting firm.
Now, with the insertion of Apple’s technology into the Square merchant base, SoftPOS technology may be poised for faster adoption, says Ferguson, who argues the technology has been slow to catch on up to now. “Apple’s inclusion is certainly an altering variable in the SoftPOS adoption equation, especially as iOS is a much more utilized platform in the U.S.,” he says. “This, paired with Square and Stripe’s atypical inclusion into Apple’s previously insular development of the feature, could be enough to shift the trend of the past couple of years.”