In our previous conversation with Andreas Östberg, CPTO at Tidypay, we explored the company’s role in simplifying complex payment landscapes across Europe. In this follow-up, we dig deeper into how POS vendors can unlock new value by integrating payments into their offerings — from recurring revenue to owning the full merchant experience. Andreas also shares his take on Android-based SoftPOS as the future of hospitality payments.
Q: How does Tidypay support POS resellers and developers who need flexibility, rapid deployment, and revenue opportunities in this vertical?
Andreas Östberg: TidyPay supports various industries like transport ticketing, grocery, retail, hospitality, large-scale events and travel by offering pre-certified terminals and acceptance solutions. Point-of-sale vendors across Europe can freely choose and deploy Tidypay’s products and services. From Portugal to Eastern Europe, Tidypay facilitates deployments and provides Tidypay-connected terminals for payments throughout the region.
Q: Security and compliance are always critical. How do you ensure that speed of innovation doesn’t compromise PCI-DSS compliance or data protection in hospitality environments?
Andreas Östberg: Tidypay prioritizes security and compliance by staying current with industry best practices and standards like PCI DSS and ISO 27001. We bring in experts and use the latest encryption (like PCI 4.1), ensuring sensitive data is protected whether it’s stored, in use, or being sent somewhere. We also conduct thorough testing to minimize vulnerabilities. By building security into our core processes, we can focus on innovation and improving our payment solutions, providing easy and affordable options for POS vendors and their merchants.
Q: SoftPOS and Android-based terminals are becoming more common. What’s your view on their role in hospitality environments—are they the future?
Andreas Östberg: The payment world is changing rapidly. The old way of doing things, building payment software on Unix or Linux, is becoming obsolete. Big companies are even selling off their hardware divisions to focus on Android-based systems. In the hospitality sector, Android-based SoftPOS is really taking over. People want the speed and ease of ‘tap and go’ with contactless payments. Chip and PIN is fading, especially with younger generations who are less familiar with it. This makes SoftPOS on Android a much more attractive and cost-effective solution for both sellers and merchants, as they can avoid investing in technology that is becoming outdated.
“People want the speed and ease of ‘tap and go’ with contactless payments. Chip and PIN is fading…”
Q: What are some of the competitive advantages POS providers unlock when they control the full merchant experience, from POS software to payments?
Andreas Östberg: When payment services are built directly into point-of-sale hardware, it creates a seamless experience for merchants. Instead of dealing with separate systems, everything works together smoothly, like a symphony. This makes things easier to understand, from purchase and setup to daily use by staff. Ultimately, it lets business owners in any industry focus on what they do best – like customer service in a restaurant – rather than becoming experts in payment technology. Being the best at your core business, not at a supporting function, is often the key to market dominance.
Q: What are the top benefits POS providers gain by bundling payment solutions directly into their offering?
Andreas Östberg: Bundling payment solutions gives POS providers a powerful advantage. They gain revenue not just from selling hardware, but also from transaction fees, essentially earning money in multiple ways. This also allows them to offer more complete solutions, making their services ‘stickier’ for merchants. The big shift is that POS providers now own the merchant relationship, something that used to belong to the banks. By bundling, they’ve become the primary point of contact, changing the landscape of the industry.
“The big shift is that POS providers now own the merchant relationship, something that used to belong to the banks.”
Q: What new revenue streams or business models become available to POS vendors when they integrate payments into their stack?
Andreas Östberg: The exciting thing is, when POS vendors integrate payments, it’s a game-changer for how they earn money. They’re not stuck with just software and hardware licensing anymore, which is kind of an old-school approach these days. Now, they get a piece of every transaction, so as their merchants’ sales grow, their revenue grows too. This “double dipping” is a hot trend! It not only means more money coming in, but it also places the POS vendor in a better financial position and makes them way more attractive to investors because they have that sweet recurring revenue. All while having the flexibility to customise card acquiring rates that suit the merchant best. Everyone wins here.
“This “double dipping” is a hot trend!”
Why This Matters for POS Providers
Bundling payments into POS offerings isn’t just a trend — it’s reshaping the industry. As Andreas explains, POS vendors are no longer just tech providers. They’re becoming central to the merchant relationship, opening up new revenue streams and making their businesses more investor-friendly in the process.
Curious how Tidypay is enabling this shift at a broader level?
Check out our first interview with Andreas where he talks about what true payment innovation really looks like — and how Tidypay is driving it.
