Merchants in Germany can now accept PIN-free contactless payments on their Android NFC smartphone without needing extra acceptance technology using a software point of sale (sPOS) solution launched by the Sparkasse group of savings banks.

The Sparkasse POS app enables merchants to collect payments of up to the current European Union contactless transaction limit of €50 (US$60) made with physical or digital debit and credit cards.

“Sparkasse POS is the first acceptance app on the German market that also makes possible payments with the Girocard, the most successful and popular payment method in this country,” says S-Payment, the banking group’s payments development centre.

“Customers can also use the S-POS app to make contactless payments using the Maestro, Mastercard, Vpay and Visa card systems.

“With Sparkasse POS, small and medium-sized companies without cash register systems or terminal infrastructure can now offer their customers cashless payments.

“The app allows business people to accept card payments anywhere — this applies, for example, to weekly market traders, craftsmen, strawberry or sunflower sellers, taxi operators, kiosks, clubs or farm shop owners.”

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