SoftPOS

Learn how SoftPOS lets you accept contactless in-person payments on compatible Android devices without dedicated POS hardware.

Introduction

SoftPOS turns a compatible NFC-enabled Android smartphone or tablet into a contactless payment terminal, allowing you to accept in-person payments without dedicated POS hardware. Customers can pay by tapping a supported contactless card, mobile wallet or wearable on the merchant’s device. Transactions are processed securely over a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

emerchantpay provides SoftPOS with Rubean, whose PhonePOS platform is PCI DSS, PCI MPoC and PIN certified.

SoftPOS offers deployment options for different business and integration needs:

Standalone app – Start accepting contactless payments without building or integrating a payment application.
Integration options – Add contactless payment acceptance to an existing Android application using App-to-App or Direct SDK integration.

Key benefits

SoftPOS offers the following benefits:

No dedicated POS hardware – Use a compatible Android device as the payment terminal.
Flexible deployment – Choose between Rubean’s standalone app, or a direct SDK or App-to-App integration with your app.
Scalability – Add payment acceptance points by setting up SoftPOS on additional compatible devices.
Fully PCI Certified – PCI DSS, PCI MPoC, and PIN certified.

Common use cases

SoftPOS is suited to businesses that need flexible in-person payment acceptance without deploying dedicated payment hardware.

SCENARIO	HOW SOFTPOS CAN BE USED
Small and medium-sized businesses and micro-merchants	Food trucks, street markets, kiosks and sole traders can use an Android device as the payment acceptance point.
Hospitality, events and pop-ups	Use mobile acceptance points in hospitality environments and add payment points for events, festivals, busy periods or queue-busting.
Logistics, delivery and field services	Accept card payments at the customer location, including doorstep delivery and road-assistance scenarios.
Retail and enterprise	Use SoftPOS for consultative retail, mobile cash desks, smart carts, Scan & Go journeys and other enterprise mobile-payment scenarios.
Backup payment acceptance	Use SoftPOS alongside traditional terminals as an additional or backup acceptance method.

Choose a SoftPOS option

Choose the deployment model based on whether you already have an electronic cash register (ECR) or electronic point of sale (EPOS) application and how much control you need over the payment experience.

OPTION	BEST FIT	WHAT TO EXPECT
RubeanPay	Direct merchants that do not have their own ECR or EPOS app.	Standalone app on a compatible Android device. No payment integration or separate POS hardware. Payment-terminal only; no inventory management, loyalty or reporting dashboard. PCI MPoC Integration Evaluation is not required. Zero development; after onboarding, download and activate RubeanPay without a payment integration.
App-to-App (A2A)	Merchants or partners with an Android app that want lower integration complexity.	Rubean’s certified payment app runs alongside your app through a secure API. PCI MPoC Integration Evaluation is not required. Lower development complexity; shorter time to market.
Direct SDK	Merchants or partners with an Android app that need one app and full UI, UX and branding control.	Embed the SDK library inside your Android app. Periodic app rebuilds are needed for SDK updates. PCI MPoC Integration Evaluation is required. Higher development effort; longer time to market.

Requirements and supported devices

SoftPOS is available to merchants across Europe and the UK.

To use SoftPOS, the device must meet these requirements:

Device type – A 64-bit Android phone or tablet. See the list of supported devices.
Operating system – Android 8.0 or later; Android 12 or later is preferred.
NFC – The device must have an NFC chip.
Device attestation – The device must support Google Play Integrity or zDefend for device attestation.

Transaction capabilities

Payment methods

SoftPOS supports contactless in-person payments, including:

Contactless cards – Visa, V PAY, Mastercard and Maestro.
Mobile wallets – Apple Pay and Google Pay.
PIN-based contactless payments – For higher-value transactions, the cardholder can enter a PIN securely on the merchant’s device.

Transaction types

Supported transaction capabilities include:

Sale
Refund (full or partial)
Void
Tips

Note: Refunds are linked to the card used for the original sale and cannot exceed the original sale amount. Pre-authorisations and cashback are out of scope.

Security and compliance

Rubean’s PhonePOS platform is PCI DSS, PCI MPoC and PIN certified. PCI MPoC (Mobile Payments on COTS) is designed for software-based contactless acceptance on commercial off-the-shelf devices and supports secure PIN entry on the merchant’s device.

The compliance requirements differ by integration path:

Direct SDK integrators must complete a PCI MPoC Integration Evaluation.
With the App-to-App integration, Rubean provides the certified payment app and handles payment compliance and kernel updates, so a separate Integration Evaluation isn’t required.
RubeanPay is provided as a certified standalone app and doesn’t require an integration evaluation from the merchant.

Considerations and limitations

Before implementing SoftPOS, consider the following technical and operational limitations:

Android only – Not available for iOS devices.
Contactless only – SoftPOS doesn’t support chip and PIN insertion or magnetic-stripe payments.
RubeanPay scope – RubeanPay doesn’t include inventory management, loyalty or a reporting dashboard.
Integration evaluation – Direct SDK integrations may require a PCI MPoC Integration Evaluation before going live.
App-to-App user experience – Two applications are installed on the device, and the payment flow includes an app handoff.

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