Several Founders, Co-Founders, CXO Bankers, CXO Fintech professional & people who participated in the ePanel discussions:
- Mr. Arun Tanksali, Co-founder & CTO, Nearex
- Mr. Ruchir Inamdar, Co-Founder, Quikepic Technologies Pvt Ltd
- Mr. Amarto Chakrabarty, Global consulting Group, Wipro Limited
- Mr. Shirsha Ghosh, Co-Founder, Torit Innovations
- Mr. Vikram Sareen, Blue Bricks Pty Ltd, Chief Architect, Founder, CEO
- Mr. Vikas R Panditrao, Co-Founder, Forum of Industry and Academic Knowledge Sharing (FIAKS)
- Many other CEO/CXO Bankers & Fintech professionals on FIAKS Forum requested to remain anonymous
“Visa, First Data, and Samsung are teaming up to pilot a hardware-free mPOS system. The three parties are collaborating on a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) system, dubbed SoftPOS, that eliminates the need for hardware like a dongle or Bluetooth attachment” [1]
Following is a line from the ‘Business Insider’ article, this news has caused concerns in the minds of our community’s experts and they have expressed their various concerns. It is important to first understand the meaning of SoftPOS, mPOS and few some other terms used in the discussions.
SoftPOS, SoftPOS is a software-only mobile POS solution in compliance with global payment scheme specifications that uses NFC (near field communication) to turn compatible android devices into a POS terminal that can accept EMV contactless payments without using any other peripherals connected to the device. Currently, it is allowed by global payment schemes (MasterCard and VISA) to accept contactless payment in pilot programs that is below CVM (cardholder verification method) Limit without any PIN entry. Later on, it is expected to expand transaction acceptance above CVM Limit by PIN on glass and/or by any other technologies to specified by EMVCo. and global payment schemes.[3]
mPOS- A mobile POS system is any system that is designed to accept card payments but isn’t physically fixed to one point, unlike traditional POS systems. Typically mPOS systems consist of a card reader that is paired with a smart device (like a smartphone or tablet) either wirelessly or physically (via the earphone jack, for example). Because mPOS systems are completely portable, they can be used anywhere in and away from the business. This has made them essential for mobile merchants, but mPOS systems have also emboldened traditionally fixed businesses to seek out mobile business opportunities[2]
Meltdown and Spectre exploit critical vulnerabilities in modern processors. These hardware vulnerabilities allow programs to steal data which is currently processed on the computer. While programs are typically not permitted to read data from other programs, a malicious program can exploit Meltdown and Spectre to get hold of secrets stored in the memory of other running programs. This might include your passwords stored in a password manager or browser, your personal photos, emails, instant messages, and even business-critical documents. Meltdown and Spectre work on personal computers, mobile devices, and in the cloud. Depending on the cloud provider’s infrastructure, it might be possible to steal data from other customers[7]
NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) The NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) is a standardized data format that can be used to exchange information between any compatible NFC device and another NFC device or tag.
Soft POS sounds like a great method to make transactions faster, easier and efficient but at the same time experts don’t recommend such digital transformation to customers, they explain that memory data can be read and stolen which makes it extremely difficult to trust such software systems. Register and Read the full article