Due to consistent advances in financial technology, payment habits continue to change. For example, in Spain, customers increasingly prefer the speed and convenience of contactless payments. According to data from the Bank of Spain, almost 4.8 billion in-person contactless payments were recorded in the first half of 2025. This represents a year-on-year increase of 11.9%. One of the factors contributing to this growth is the increased availability of mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

In 2020, Visa launched the first mobile POS terminal feature for Android devices, while the technology arrived on Apple two years later. Since then, its adoption in Spain has become widespread, even appearing in official legal documents, such as an explicit mention of mobile card terminals in a resolution by the Spanish Tax Agency.

In this article, we analyse which businesses can benefit most from these devices and explain how to choose the best mobile POS terminal to help you take advantage of this technology.

Key takeaways

• Mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminals are compatible with smartphones and tablets. Self-employed professionals and businesses can use them as payment collection devices.
  
• There are two types of mobile POS terminals: those that only accept contactless payments (via software) and those that also accept chip or magnetic stripe cards (via hardware)
  
• Mobile POS terminals are an ideal payment solution for many Spanish businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and professionals who provide services at customer locations
  
• When choosing a POS terminal, it is advisable to analyse features such as ease of use and supported payment methods
  

What are mobile POS terminals?

Mobile POS terminals are software solutions installed on smartphones and tablets that allow them to be used as payment devices. These terminals can potentially eliminate the need to purchase traditional card terminals.

Mobile POS terminals process in-person transactions by reading information from credit or debit cards. They can also be used with mobile devices – such as smartphones or smartwatches – that have digital wallets installed.

Types of mobile POS terminals

Businesses and professionals that sell products or provide services in Spain can choose from several types of card terminals to accept payments from customers using cards or digital wallets. Here is more information about how they work.

Mobile software-based POS terminals

Mobile software-based POS terminals – or SoftPOS – are devices for processing card payments that only accept contactless payments. To use one, download and install the application on a phone or tablet. Once this simple process is complete, start accepting payments via cards or digital wallets.

Since these terminals operate using near-field communication (NFC) technology built into the device, it is important to note that some tablets cannot be used as mobile POS terminals via software, as they often lack this feature.

Mobile hardware-based POS terminals

Mobile hardware-based POS terminals combine smartphones and tablets with compatible card readers. Since they also read data by swiping cards, they do not rely on NFC technology and support both contact and contactless payments.

Similarities between mobile software-based and hardware-based POS terminals

Despite differences in usage, the two types of mobile POS terminals share some characteristics. First of all, both solutions can be paired with additional hardware, such as cash registers or receipt printers. Unlike traditional payment solutions, there is no need to connect a code reader to a mobile POS terminal, as the smartphone or tablet camera allows for scanning barcodes or quick-response (QR) codes.

Finally, both types of mobile POS terminals allow for calculating or entering prices of products or services, facilitating customer payments, and communicating with banks to request funds transfers.

Main advantages of mobile POS terminals for businesses

In addition to offering some of the advantages of bankless card terminals – such as greater control over transactions – mobile POS terminals provide other benefits because of their flexibility and simplicity. These are the most significant advantages businesses gain by implementing this payment technology.

Increased turnover

Reducing queue wait times and multiplying checkout points allows businesses with mobile POS terminals to increase their revenue. For example, during the first half of 2025, Spanish businesses using Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA)'s mobile POS terminal saw their turnover increase nearly fivefold compared to the same period in 2024.

Flexibility and mobility

Unlike traditional countertop payment terminals, mobile POS terminals allow businesses to process payments at various locations within the business premises. In fact, customers can make payments from wherever they are, which is especially convenient for businesses such as restaurants that offer dine-in, pickup, and delivery options.

According to Forbes, 41% of these types of establishments plan to set up more dedicated spaces to facilitate pickups and deliveries.

Cost savings

When implementing a mobile POS, there are no fixed costs for services such as card reader installation and maintenance or device rental, as there are with standalone terminals. For example, renting a card reader from Banco Santander involves a €250 setup and installation fee, plus a monthly fee of €50.

Similar to standalone card readers, mobile POS systems incur transaction fees and authorisation fees charged by payment service providers for successfully processed transactions. However, the savings are greater with mobile POS terminals because most Spanish businesses already have mobile phones or tablets compatible with these systems. In fact, 56.9% of Spanish businesses provide mobile devices to their employees for professional use.

Improved business image

Generally, mobile POS terminals are perceived as more modern and advanced tools than fixed POS terminals. This makes it possible to better connect with today's customers, who increasingly use solutions adapted to the digital environment.

For example, 50.7% of Spanish customers pay using their mobile phones at retail stores instead of physical cards, according to Mastercard's 2025 Consumer Barometer. Therefore, it is not surprising that the trend of accepting mobile payments in stores and hospitality businesses is on the rise, as revealed by the Bank of Spain.

Businesses that can benefit from mobile POS terminals

Virtually all businesses have at least one mobile device compatible with this payment technology, making its widespread adoption common in Spain. According to BBVA, the number of businesses regularly accepting payments via mobile POS terminals rose by 80% year-on-year as of June 2025. Here are some of the businesses that can benefit most from processing sales and accepting payments via smartphones or tablets.

Self-employed professionals providing in-home services

A mobile POS terminal eliminates the need to carry extra devices. This is because the smartphones self-employed professionals use to communicate with customers can also serve to collect payments for on-site services.

Commercial establishments without checkout counters

Businesses that do not have checkout counters can accept payments from their customers using mobile POS terminals. This is common for businesses such as street vendors, showrooms, and trade fairs.

Businesses that need to collect payments quickly

In businesses such as restaurants, it is important to process payments quickly. However, this goal is difficult to achieve when the establishment has a single payment terminal that staff can only use one at a time. This is a common situation due to the high cost of maintaining multiple terminals.

Conversely, if each staff member has a mobile POS terminal, they can collect payments quickly from each customer.

Businesses that receive small payments

In businesses where small payments are common – such as bakeries – many customers do not pay with cash if the establishment does not have a card payment minimum. In some cases, these customers also do not pay with cards, opting instead to use contactless payments with their mobile phones or smartwatches.

Seasonal businesses

It is common for seasonal businesses – such as skiwear shops or beachfront restaurants – to close during the slow season. For these businesses, mobile POS terminals are good payment solutions for active seasons because they don't incur monthly fees or penalties when the premises are closed.

On the other hand, for businesses that remain open year-round but experience heavy activity during specific months, mobile POS terminals can serve as backups to relieve workloads on traditional POS terminals and keep queues moving.

Small or newly formed businesses

For many small or newly formed businesses, acquiring a traditional POS terminal is unfeasible due to a lack of cash flow. In contrast, a mobile POS terminal does not require additional expense if the business has a compatible Android or iPhone device.

How to choose the best mobile POS terminal

Although it is not mandatory to have a card terminal in a business, it is highly recommended – especially a portable model – whether used as a backup or primary payment device. Here is a list of tips that can help businesses select the right payment terminal.

Compliance with legal requirements

The card reader must be approved and meet legal requirements, such as those laid out in Spanish Royal Decree-Law 19/2018 on payment services, the Spanish Law on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce (LSSI), and the anti-fraud law in Spain. In addition, it must comply with security standards, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) regulations.

Payment provider terms

While banking institutions are transparent regarding fees and commissions, their technological solutions – such as turning mobile devices into POS terminals – often entail contracting additional services. To avoid this, choose a mobile POS terminal from a payment provider with contractual terms that include business-friendly clauses, such as not requiring businesses to open new business bank accounts.

Transparent costs

Although there is no contractual relationship with a banking institution, mobile POS terminals typically charge small commissions on payments processed through the device. It is important for the business offering the mobile POS terminal service to be transparent and clearly explain its fee structure. Here are some of the most common costs that businesses can incur:

• Initial payments upon contracting mobile POS terminal services
  
• Payment processing fees
  
• Additional fees for other payment methods, such as charges for cards not issued within the European Economic Area (EEA)
  

Integration with traditional POS terminals

When using a mobile POS terminal as a supplement to a traditional POS terminal (e.g., to meet high demand during peak periods), ensure that both systems are compatible. This helps to avoid duplicate tasks and synchronisation errors.

Ease of use

To maximise the speed of payments using a mobile POS terminal, it is important to have an intuitive interface. To use its features – such as entering amounts and generating or sending receipts – the interface should only require one or two taps on a smartphone or tablet screen.

Integration of in-person and online sales

If a business operates both physical and online stores, it's important for the payment service provider to allow the business to manage all payments on a single platform. This includes both in-person sales with mobile POS terminals and online store sales. This helps to provide a unified commerce experience.

The process of collecting payments with a mobile POS terminal is not complicated. However, it can be challenging to manage these payments separately from those received online in an e-commerce store.

Payment methods

It is important for the mobile POS terminal to support the payment methods preferred by Spanish customers. Accepting payment methods that customers trust can help increase business revenue.

In general, mobile POS terminals are compatible with most in-person payment methods, such as card payments. According to the Bank of Spain's Study on cash usage habits, card payments are the second most common payment method in Spain. The same report notes that, in 2025, 34% of Spanish customers used mobile devices to make purchases in retail stores.

Bizum also experienced significant growth. Estimates from banks and businesses indicate that 20% to 30% of customers already use this payment method for their purchases. Once Bizum Pay launches, mobile POS terminals will likely accept this digital wallet. In fact, it is expected to become one of the most widely used in Spain.

How to integrate a mobile POS with Stripe Terminal

Stripe Terminal allows you to unify in-person and online payments, as it integrates natively with Stripe Payments. Whether you use an Android device or an iPhone, you can turn it into a mobile POS terminal without the need for additional hardware. Tap to Pay on iPhone and Tap to Pay on Android allow you to accept contactless payments directly from the device, using built-in NFC technology.

Thanks to this flexibility, businesses operating with iOS or Android devices can access the same functionalities. You can monitor and manage all payments from a single location, offer customers a smoother and more intuitive experience, and access real-time sales data to make better business decisions.

In addition, Terminal includes features designed for businesses of any size. It accepts offline payments, generates detailed sales reports, and simplifies the management of returns and refunds directly from your device.

FAQs about mobile POS terminals