ING and Mastercard are turning smartphones into mobile points of sale

ING and Mastercard now allow turning?smartphone into POS. Source: ing.com

Turkish small business owners can now use their smartphones to securely accept payments from customers following a pilot by ING and Mastercard. The ‘Tap on Phone’ application allows business owners to use their Android smartphone, tablet or other smart devices as mobile points of sale (POS), replacing the traditional cash register or electronic POS terminal.

The portability of mobile POS terminals makes payments cheaper and more flexible for merchants and easier for customers.

Any Android-based smartphone or tablet can be transformed into a mobile POS with the ‘Tap on Phone’ app and an activated near-field communication (NFC) – a form of wireless data transfer available on many smartphones today.

To protect customer privacy, data is encrypted and stored in the cloud, which is beneficial for users too, allowing them to track inventory and check daily transactions in real-time.

According to Mastercard, there are 1.5 million small-medium enterprises and millions of other micro-businesses owners such as taxi drivers, florists, and electricians who can increase their sales and lower costs by adopting digital payments.

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