The global transaction value processed via soft POS will reach $11.8bn by 2028, up from $1 billion in 2023.
Major growth drivers will be driven by Apple’s launch of Tap to Pay, coupled with soft POS’ low cost of acceptance, which will lead to significant small business adoption.
Soft POS allows NFC‑enabled smartphones or tablets to accept contactless payments, without requiring additional hardware.
The figures come from a new report just published by Juniper Research.
It anticipates that the number of smartphones using soft POS by 2028 will reach 61 million globally; growing 683% from 2023. This is largely due to Apple’s roll-out of its Tap to Pay solution in markets with high numbers of smaller merchants, such as Brazil, France and the UK.
Research author Daniel Bedford said: “With the growing use of SDK integration, small businesses and merchants can access advanced software, such as loyalty and reward schemes and inventory management. POS software bundles reduce the financial barriers to accessing POS technology; helping businesses readily scale their operations.”