Phos, a software development firm, has introduced a pilot program with payments giant Mastercard, which involves the launch of a new mobile-based solution that will allow merchants to process contactless payments.
The new payment option is available on all Android smartphones without requiring any additional hardware purchases. The new payment solution will allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to process cashless transactions, which could help grow their business.
Scott Abrahams, senior VP of business development and Fintech at Mastercard (UK), stated:
“For businesses, no matter how big or small, their customers expect the ability to pay the way they want. Payment choice is now fundamental, and to date this has been a challenge for micro businesses.”
Abrahams added:
“This solution by phos has been designed to meet the flexibility and cost requirements of small and micro business owners, by leveraging existing technology – their smart phone – to accept convenient and secure contactless payments.”
The pilot is being supported by Paynetics, a digital money institution that has operational licenses across the EU.
Antonina Martinova, the co-founder of phos, noted:
“Traditional point of sale terminals may not always answer the specific needs of small and micro merchants and are therefore often out of their reach.”
Martinova pointed out that with Phos, these businesses will be able to use their mobile devices to accept contactless payments. He also noted that including the financially underserved retailers in the evolving digital payments ecosystem marks “a great achievement for us as we strive to simplify financial services.”
Phos is available on Google Play store. The software program enables all Android mobile devices to take payments from contactless cards or other near field communication (NFC)-enabled devices. Mastercard has reportedly certified (which ensures the platform’s security) phos through its Digital Enablement Service as a digital point of sale (PoS) solution for Android devices.