A smart POS is a payment terminal that works more like a tablet or phone than a traditional card machine. It runs an operating system such as Android, has a color touchscreen, and connects over Wi-Fi or mobile data. Besides reading chip, contactless and magnetic stripe cards, it can run applications for ordering, inventory, loyalty, tipping, receipts and staff management, downloaded from an app store managed by the terminal maker or the acquirer.
The device contains certified payment hardware, including a secure card reader and PIN entry that meet card industry security standards, which separates it from SoftPOS, where an ordinary phone accepts cards with no added hardware. It also differs from a mobile point of sale reader that depends on a paired phone. For acquirers and payment facilitators, smart terminals allow remote updates and new services to be delivered as software, and they often form the in-store part of a wider point of sale system.