SoftPOS Commoditizes Card Readers

SoftPOS turns the card reader from a moat into a commodity, which pushes competition toward software, service, and underwriting rather than plastic hardware on the counter. FlatPay still sells a full bundle that includes terminal, POS software, printers, setup, training, and daily payouts, but free Tap to Pay options let very small merchants start taking contactless payments on an iPhone with no extra device at all. That matters most at the low end, where merchants care more about getting paid cheaply and quickly than about a full countertop setup.

• FlatPay is built around a bundled in person stack, not just payment acceptance. A cafe or salon gets a PAX reader, tablet POS, cash drawer, printer, cloud reporting, installation, and staff training. SoftPOS only replaces the acceptance device, so FlatPay keeps an edge where merchants need a full checkout workflow, not just a way to tap cards.
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• The biggest pressure is on micro merchants and mobile sellers. Apple now supports Tap to Pay on iPhone across more of Europe, including Finland in March 2025, and merchants can accept contactless cards directly on iPhone with partner apps like Stripe and SumUp, no dedicated terminal required.
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• Scale players can absorb this shift more easily. SumUp already offers custom 0.99% pricing for merchants above €100,000 in annual volume and is estimated at $600M in annualized revenue. Stripe layers Tap to Pay into Terminal and charges an extra per authorization fee, using in person payments as one module inside a broader commerce stack.
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The next phase of in person payments will look more like software distribution than hardware sales. FlatPay can keep winning where merchants want someone to install the system, train staff, and run the whole store stack, but the floor price for simple card acceptance is falling toward zero hardware and lower take rates across Europe.