The number of point of sale (POS) terminals in Spain continues to increase. Statistics from the Bank of Spain show that the number of POS terminals reached 4.62 million at the end of the first half of 2025. This represents a year-on-year increase of 7.4%.

If the commercial activity of your business requires you to accept in-person payments and you want to make the best decision when choosing a POS system, the information in this article can help you decide what criteria to take into account.

Key takeaways

• There are five main types of point of sale (POS) terminals used in Spain: traditional, bankless, virtual, mobile, and self-service.
  
• To choose the right POS terminal, it is important to consider the payment methods it accepts, as well as its security level, fees, and unified commerce options for both in-store and online payments.
  
• Some POS terminals in Spain feature specific functions designed to meet the needs of businesses and their customers, such as instalment payments and digital tipping.
  
• If the POS terminal also functions as a billing system, it must comply with the requirements and deadlines established by the Create and Grow (Crea y Crece) Law.
  

What is a POS system?

POS stands for "point of sale" and is a collection solution businesses use to carry out their commercial activities. In Spain, it is common for the term "TPV" – the Spanish equivalent of the "POS" acronym – to be used as a synonym for "terminal" or "card reader." However, it is important to understand that a POS system encompasses other elements. These are the fundamental components of a POS system:

• Card readers: These devices process card payments or – increasingly – accept digital wallets, such as Bizum Pay.
  
• Software: These are computer programs for managing sales and other business-related activities, such as taxes, inventory, and financial reports.
  
• Code readers: These devices scan barcodes or quick-response (QR) codes.
  
• Printers: Although an increasing number of businesses send invoices or receipts to customers via email or text message, it is still common for POS terminals to be equipped with thermal receipt printers.
  
• Cash register: Some businesses still opt for traditional cash registers, which include several of the basic functions of a POS system. In many cases, highly digitised companies that use POS terminals on computers or tablets will only have a small cash drawer to handle cash.
  

What is a POS system for?

A POS system encompasses several tools that serve three main purposes:

• Charge the correct amount to customers with their preferred payment methods: A modern POS system must be able to automatically calculate the amount and the value-added tax (VAT) applicable to your sales, as well as support different payment methods in addition to cash and cards (e.g., digital wallets).
  
• Manage business sales: Your POS system needs to be able to integrate with your other systems (e.g., customer relationship management [CRM] system) to automatically update inventory, create loyalty programmes, or send sales invoices to customers.
  
• Generate accounting reports: Even the simplest POS system can generate listings of your sales for a specific period of time to simplify your accounting tasks. However, a solution adapted to today's businesses needs to allow them to use data to generate personalised reports. For example, this can help businesses analyse profit margins or opportunities to launch new offers.
  

How does a POS system work?

Although each type of POS system introduces certain nuances in its operation, they generally follow a similar process:

• Product registration: When the customer chooses the products they want to purchase, the POS system registers them (e.g., using the code reader). If necessary, the system also automatically updates the stock in the inventory.
  
• Calculation and collection of the amount: The POS software calculates the final amount with the corresponding VAT and shows the amount the customer must pay. The customer can use the card machine to pay by card or use any other payment method the device supports.
  
• Transaction authorisation: The payment gateway communicates with the bank that issued the customer card to verify that it has sufficient funds. If it is confirmed that the card has funds and there are no suspicions of card fraud, the bank will authorise the transaction and send the funds to the business's account.
  
• Receipt issuance: The POS system generates a receipt for the sale, which can be printed instantly or sent digitally to the customer. Then, it records the sale as completed.
  

What types of POS terminals exist in Spain?

The POS terminals businesses in Spain usually choose can be divided into five categories:

Traditional POS

A traditional POS system includes a cash register – with software that must meet the requirements of the anti-fraud law – to enter sales data and manage cash payments. It also includes a terminal provided by the bank that the company uses to accept card and digital wallet payments. In some cases, a traditional POS system includes other devices, such as a receipt and invoice printer.

Bankless POS

A bankless POS system can have an identical configuration to a traditional POS system. However, the business uses a terminal that is not linked to its bank. By avoiding contractual agreements with their banking entity, businesses have greater control over their POS systems and the types of devices their business uses.

For example, with Stripe Terminal, you can get state-of-the-art card readers that support payments with digital wallets and cards. Plus, Terminal easily integrates with Stripe's entire payments stack, allowing you to consolidate online and in-person payments and create more accurate sales reports.

Virtual POS

Virtual POS is software that does not require hardware, such as a terminal. In this case, the virtual POS works with a payment gateway to send the transaction information to the bank and for the bank to approve or refuse payment.

Customising a virtual POS to offer other payment methods to customers is typically much easier than working with third-party hardware. In Spain, it can also offer the option of accepting payments with Bizum.

Mobile POS

A mobile POS system works on devices such as smartphones and tablets and allows businesses to accept payments without additional hardware. For example, with Tap to Pay, businesses can accept contactless payments from Apple or Android devices.

Self-service POS

The self-service POS system allows in-store customers to scan and pay for products without the intervention of an employee. For example, in 2019, Decathlon implemented them in 165 stores and, four years later, celebrated a 10% increase in turnover in Spanish stores.

What to consider when choosing a POS system in Spain

Beyond the type of POS, there are other aspects to evaluate. In Spain, the following characteristics require consideration.

Payment methods

It is important that a POS system supports payment methods that Spanish customers prefer. According to a survey, 43% of Spanish customers say cash is not their preferred payment method, while 27% say cards are their first choice.

Unified commerce

Consider how to unify online and in-person payments. According to the Cetelem Observatory, which is the study unit of BNP Paribas, 69% of Spanish customers continue to prioritise in-person purchases and mostly cite difficulties in managing returns as the source of their preference. To ensure that sales from all channels are synchronised, it is important that a POS system offers unified commerce options.

Payment regulations

The POS system must comply with the Law on Measures to Prevent and Combat Tax Fraud. This means it needs to be complete and traceable and not allow accounting or management manipulations with the aim of defrauding the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT).

In addition, if the POS system can generate, store, or process invoices or simplified invoices, it can be considered a computerised invoicing system (SIF) and must meet the requirements of Royal Decree 1007/2023. These requirements include ensuring the integrity, preservation, traceability, and immutability of invoicing records.

The Verifiable Invoice Issuance System (VERI*FACTU) is one of the options available for meeting these requirements and allows invoicing records to be submitted to the AEAT. Businesses subject to corporate income tax must adapt their systems by 1 January 2027; all other affected taxpayers must do so by 1 July 2027. Before choosing a POS system with invoicing functionality, confirm that the provider offers a compliant system and the corresponding declaration of compliance.

Security

It is important that a POS has systems for payment data tokenisation, updates to security protections, and compliance with applicable standards. This is especially important in Spain, where there were 122,223 cybersecurity incidents in 2025, according to data from the Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE). This was a year-on-year increase of 26%.

Rates

Check that the POS service provider clearly details rates and commissions. Although banking entities are transparent, they often require the contracting of related services. In these cases, remember that there is the option to use a free POS system that does not depend on a bank.

How Stripe can help

Stripe Terminal allows businesses to grow their revenue with unified payments across in-person and online channels. It supports new ways to pay, simple hardware logistics, global coverage and hundreds of POS and commerce integrations to design your ideal payments stack.

Stripe powers unified commerce for brands like Hertz, URBN, Lands' End, Shopify, Lightspeed and Mindbody.

Stripe Terminal can help you:

• Unify commerce: Manage online and in-person payments on a global platform with unified payments data.

• Expand globally: Scale to 24 countries with a single set of integrations and popular payment methods.

• Integrate your way: Develop your own custom POS app or connect with your existing tech stack using third-party POS and commerce integrations.

• Simplify hardware logistics: Easily order, manage and monitor Stripe-supported readers, wherever they are.

Learn more about Stripe Terminal or get started today.

FAQs about point of sale (POS) systems in Spain