Ingenico has acquired SoftPOS vendor Phos for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2018, Phos allows merchants to process payments directly through a card tap on Android mobile devices, eliminating the need for a separate card reader. This acquisition aligns with Ingenico’s strategic move towards providing software-based services for digital payments within the traditionally hardware-centric EftPOS market.
The SoftPOS sector is seen as a rapidly expanding market, offering applications for both in-aisle payments at larger retailers and small merchants, as well as for independent entrepreneurs. The number of SoftPOS terminals is projected to rise from 3.1 million globally in 2022 to nearly 12 million by 2027.
Brad Hyett, CEO of Phos, stated, “We see strong customer demand and significant double-digit growth in the SoftPOS addressable market worldwide. We believe Ingenico will help us capture more of that market and explore new use cases with clients globally. We look forward to accelerating the business together with the Ingenico teams in the coming months.”
Ingenico plans to integrate Phos into its device-agnostic Payments Platform as a Service (PPaaS), which targets acquirers, payment service providers, and independent software vendors. Giulio Montemagno, general manager of PPaaS at Ingenico, commented, “Clients and partners worldwide have clearly identified SoftPOS as one of the biggest opportunities they see right now. They view SoftPOS as a strategic option to engage with new customer segments and develop innovative use cases at scale with minimal incremental investments in technology and distribution.”
To learn more about payments innovation, you can register for NextGen Nordics, taking place on April 25, 2023.