NearPay softPOS Visa Tap to Phone Certification

Source : Appluslaboratories

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NearPay (Tabaod Communications and Information Technology LLC) is a recently-created fintech company based in Saudi Arabia, providing payment acceptance solutions targeting micro-merchant transactions, and providing flexibility to mobile merchants.

In 2020, NearPay developed its first softPOS solution and decided to certify their product with Visa, to ensure that it accepts payments using the Visa network.

SoftPOS are software-based solutions that convert a regular smartphone into a contactless card reader. The simplicity, flexibility and affordability of softPOS makes it a convenient solution for managing micropayments. Companies such as small shops or delivery companies can easily adopt this as an alternative to hardware-based terminals.

Challenge

As a start-up developing its first mobile payment solution, NearPay did not have experience in Visa Certification Programs, and they needed a laboratory with expertise in Visa specs to support them throughout the certification project.

Solution

NearPay placed their trust in Applus+, a Visa-accredited lab with ample experience in certifying acceptance devices, to test their softPOS solution. In recognition of the quality of our services, we have received Visa’s award for ‘Best Performance for Testing Services of Chip Acceptance Device Products’ for the last three years.

NearPay decided to certify its softPOS under the new Visa Ready Tap to Phone Kernel Specification (VRTPKS), which was launched by Visa in August 2020. Before that, Visa had been certifying Tap to Phone solutions with Visa Contactless Payment Specification (VCPS) for hardware-based POS. This certification option expired in November 2020, when VRTPKS became mandatory for SoftPOS.

In December 2020, NearPay softPOS successfully obtained the Visa certification, becoming one of the first certified tap to phone solutions under VRTPKS. Applus+ Laboratories’ advice, support and continuous communication were key factors in facilitating the certification process.

“We would like to thank Applus+ Laboratories for being so helpful in our first Visa certification project and we are fortunate to have worked with them, and hopefully we will continue this collaboration in the future” highlighted Mohammad Aleban, NearPay CEO.

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