The Strategic Implications of Virtual Point of Sale Terminals

Boston, MA
October 2005

THE STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL POINT OF SALE TERMINALS 

NEW RESEARCH REPORT BY MERCATOR ADVISORY GROUP

vPOS (virtual point of sale) is the means for turning an IP connected PC into a payment terminal that can accept and process payment card transactions at the point of sale.  The latest research, the first in a series of two reports on vPOS, from Mercator Advisory Group explores the two different models of virtual terminals, hosted and in-house.  While recognizing the origins of virtual terminals to enable e-commerce card payment transactions, this report also considers the threat of vPOS to manufacturers of traditional payment terminals.

"Virtual point of sale offers an opportunity for processors and gateways to achieve a tighter level of integration with their merchants.  We have seen a growing interest in vPOS from processors and gateways, but also from ISO's and value added resellers who are realizing that the ability to bring card-present transaction processing to a PC is finding increased acceptance with the merchant community," notes Melanie Broad, Research Analyst for Mercator Advisory Group's Emerging Technologies Service.

In The Strategic Implications Of Virtual Point Of Sale Terminals, Mercator Advisory Group identifies various strategic implications of card-present vPOS applications such as the allowance for tighter integration with merchants.  The report also examines opportunities for vPOS providers in delivering value added services.  The placement of various players in the market is explained and the report touches upon ways that such companies have increased their value to merchants at the point of sale.  

This report details the offerings of a representative handful of players in the vPOS and transaction routing space, including payment gateways, processors, ISOs/VARs and traditional terminal manufacturers, briefly describing the vPOS card-present products they offer to give an idea of the wide variety of methods VPOS is brought to market.  

One of four exhibits included in this report

The report contains 26 pages and 4 exhibits.

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