Will POS Devices Get Lost In The Cloud?

There’s an ongoing debate raging in the point-of-sale (POS) sector, in conference halls and boardrooms, and it’s fault line lies on the rapid technological developments that have upended the sector in recent years. Both sides agree advances in the cloud and software will impact the point of sale, but the more progressive – and some would say controversial – go as far to say these disruptive technologies will render physical POS devices obsolete.

Ken Paull, CEO of mPOS product specialist ROAM, sides with the former camp. In an exclusive interview with PYMNTS.com, Paull said he believes the physical point of sale will be shaped by, not replaced by, software and the cloud.

“There’s a number of things that are still going to exist,” Paull told Market Platform Dynamics (MPD) CEO Karen Webster. “What we see at the device level is going to change over time. But, the things that aren’t going to change are the following: security and the user-merchant experience.”

That user interface layer, Paull argues will be key to ensuring POS systems retain a physical presence. Paull cites the market entrance of EMV and wireless technologies like bluetooth and NFC as proof that some device requirements will be necessary, no matter what new functionalities future advancements bring.

Paull does agree, though, that there is the potential for massive changes to POS devices, both in terms of how they look and act. Paull opened up to reveal what the implications of a shift like this to a player like ROAM would be (Jump to 9:08) and provided his opinion of whether mPOS is really the future of the point of sale (Jump to 6:40).

Which market players does Paull believe are best prepared to drive this evolution (Jump to 3:40), and how does he answer Webster’s the most controversial question?

To hear Webster’s full interview with Paull, listen to our full podcast below.

*If you have trouble with the audio player above, click here.

Ken Paull, CEO of ROAM

Ken has over 20 years in senior management roles in the electronic payments industry including senior vice president at RBS Lynk (now WorldPay), vice president at Triton Systems and general manager at VeriFone. He was responsible for building and rapidly growing what is now WorldPay’s national account payments division while also directing the turnaround of what had been a declining ATM processing business. While at Triton, the company surpassed NCR as the second largest domestic ATM supplier and also became the global leader in retail ATM deployments. At VeriFone, Ken built their major account, retail division which has become one of the largest segments of their business. Most recently, Ken has held positions of board director at Access to Money, director at Market Platform Dynamics and president of Pax. A native of the Boston area, Ken holds a B.S. in Marketing and Communications from Babson College, as well as an MBA in Telecommunications Management from Golden Gate University.