Following MYPINPAD achieving a Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council certification, we spoke to the firm’s Head of Marketing Nigel Dean, who emphasised how significant the award is, as well as how he believes pin on mobile technology will develop in the year ahead.
Payment Expert: Firstly, how much of an affirmation is it to the positive work of MPP to be awarded the PCI SSC SPoC approval for IOS devices?
Nigel Dean: As a business we are ecstatic with achieving PCI SPoC certification for our MPP mPOS PIN on Mobile solution. In 2012, when the business was founded the idea of using everyday smartphones and tablets to accept PIN based payment was deemed impossible by the payments industry. Today, MYPINAD’s seven-year vision has become reality thanks to the relentless drive to make the impossible possible.
The next phase is deployment which will deliver the extensive benefits of this technology compared to traditional point of sale terminals. These benefits include reduced cost and complexity while allowing customers to leverage the capabilities of connected smart devices to promote sales and loyalty.
PE: Are you able to tell us more about the MPP SoftPOS technology?
ND: MPP mPOS is our PIN on Mobile solution based on PCI’s SPoC specifications. Utilising a separate secure card-reader the solution is currently iOS certified with Android certification set to follow in a matter of weeks. MPP SoftPOS is a solution built upon the exact same platform but is designed to meet the recently published PCI CPoC specifications.
CPoC allows everyday smartphones and tablets to securely read contactless cards (without the need of an external reader) and subsequently process transactions. There are clearly limitations with this technology due to the contactless limits set by the card schemes, but this capability is a critical phase in our product roadmap.
We envisage SPoC and CPoC becoming a combined solution which allows contactless and PIN based card payments in one without any additional hardware.
PE: How do you anticipate PIN on Mobile technology growing and evolving in the year ahead?
ND: For MYPINPAD, 2020 is the year of phased deployment across the globe. Numerous customers are currently integrating our solution into their apps thanks to our simple API and technical support. Pilots are envisaged imminently.
As with any new payment technology mass adoption will be triggered at different times depending on customer and market. We envisage by the end of this year deployments will be widespread in all major continents across the globe.
PE: MPP caters to an expansive portfolio of businesses, can you detail some of the challenges that come with being so versatile?
ND: The industry has long believed PIN on Mobile is a technology for the micro-merchant due to the minimal cost of deployment. This classification, however, could not be further from the truth. Yes, PIN on Mobile will serve the cost-sensitive micro-merchant sector and emerging card payment markets, but significant traction will also be seen in tier 1 and tier 2 retailers.
This demand is being driven by the ability to leverage the connected capabilities of smart devices combined with the seamless sales engagement and payment experience offered by PIN on Mobile.
MYPINPAD’s solution suite has been specifically designed to cater for all market sectors and geographies, hence the primary focus to deliver a single platform architecture to support all. As such, we can seamlessly serve an extreme diversity of end customers from a micro-merchant in India to a large retailer in New York.
PE: How imperative is it that MPP technology supports use by people with visual impairment and people with other disabilities?
ND: The proliferation of touch screen technology has been a significant challenge for the visually impaired and other disabilities since its inception. As PIN on Mobile gains rapid adoption the challenge for those shoppers with a disability will increase significantly not only by the number of high street outlets moving to touch screens for payment, but also some providers opting for a scrambled keypad for PIN entry.
MYPINPAD has understood this challenge since the inception of PIN on Mobile and specifically brought to market a solution with a standard PIN pad layout.
We have also developed a unique and patented solution which ensures this technology is fully inclusive for all users. Currently being accessed by a national disability organisation the resulting solution is set to remove the current challenges facing customers with visual impairment and beyond.
An additional benefit of this approach is the option of an additional level of seamless security to remove the risk of shoulder surfing. A solution launch is planned shortly.
