MPOS Terminals - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)

The mPOS terminals market size is projected to expand from USD 37.92 billion in 2025 and USD 40.73 billion in 2026 to USD 54.01 billion by 2031, registering a 5.81% CAGR between 2026 to 2031. This report is Segmented by Device Type (Chip and PIN, Chip and Signature, Contactless/NFC, Magnetic-Stripe-Only, and More), Mode of Payment (Contact-Based, and Contactless), End-User Industry (Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, Transportation and Logistics, and More), Deployment Mode (On-Premise, and Cloud-Based and SaaS), and Geography. The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Global MPOS Terminals Market Trends and Insights

Ubiquity of Low-Cost Card Acceptance Hardware

Entry-level readers priced below USD 50 have unlocked acceptance for street vendors, pop-up retailers, and gig-economy workers that previously operated on cash alone. Square, SumUp, and PayPal Zettle all list sub-USD 50 dongles, and Asia-Pacific contract manufacturers now supply white-label units at under USD 30 ex-works, accelerating penetration into India’s tier-2 cities and Southeast Asia’s informal retail sector. Device commoditization is forcing vendors to pivot toward higher-margin subscriptions for analytics dashboards, loyalty integration, and embedded financing, reducing reliance on hardware gross profit. ISO 20022 messaging and EMVCo specifications guarantee interoperability, stripping away vendor lock-in and sharpening price competition.

Accelerating Consumer Shift to Contactless and E-Wallet Payments

Ireland logged mobile wallets at 58.2% of point-of-sale value during H1 2025, and 92% of U.K. card payments were tap-to-pay in 2024. For merchants, a 15-second tap replaces a 30-45-second PIN entry, shrinking queues and labor costs in quick-service restaurants. Hospitality venues report 10-15% faster table turns when tableside NFC terminals remove trips to a cashier station. The upside for MPOS vendors is an accelerated replacement wave for contactless-capable hardware, although the same consumer preference also makes SoftPOS viable, applying downward pressure on entry-level device sales.

Emerging Tap-on-Phone SoftPOS Cannibalizing Dedicated MPOS Hardware

Stripe’s software-only SDK, Apple Tap to Pay, and Android SoftPOS from Adyen and Worldline eliminate the USD 50-150 hardware purchase for small merchants, substituting existing smartphones for separate terminals. Micro-merchants and seasonal vendors processing fewer than 100 transactions a month are particularly drawn to zero-capex onboarding. European SoftPOS adoption could reach 15-20% of new merchant accounts by 2027, eroding entry-level device demand. Incumbent vendors are countering by emphasizing countertop units with printers, customer displays, and biometric readers that smartphones cannot replicate, but the low-margin high-volume segment is already migrating toward software.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

• On-Device Tap to Phone Certification Unlocking Smartphone-as-POS Solutions
• Rapid Rollout of Value-Add Analytics for Micro-Merchants
• Costly Migration to PCI MPoC and PCI v6 Compliance

Segment Analysis

Chip-and-PIN held 36.89% of the MPOS terminals market share in 2025, underscoring its entrenchment in regulated environments. Biometric readers, however, are recording a 9.13% CAGR to 2031 after PSD2 raised authentication thresholds, fueling demand for fingerprint or facial recognition terminals across Europe. The MPOS terminals market size allocated to biometric devices therefore rises disproportionately as merchants absorb 30-40% higher unit prices to reduce chargebacks and align with data-protection rules. Low-feature magnetic-stripe and chip-only models now occupy a residual niche, mainly in countries with delayed EMV migration. Over time, device competition is shifting from interface technology toward authentication sophistication, with FIDO-certified sensors and privacy-preserving algorithms emerging as product differentiators.

The premium emphasis is attracting specialized suppliers such as Next Biometrics, which deployed fingerprint sensors in Vietnamese terminals, and PopID, which piloted facial-auth payment systems in the United Arab Emirates. Established vendors are integrating similar modules to defend share, while software platforms tie biometric readiness to value-add features like age verification and self-checkout. Cost-sensitive merchants in low-fraud environments stick with chip-and-PIN, while higher-ticket verticals migrate toward biometric-embedded models to balance security and user experience.

Contact-based transactions retained 76.67% share in 2025, yet contactless volume is expanding at an 8.34% CAGR, nearly 1.5 times the overall MPOS terminals market growth. Consumer familiarity with tap-to-pay cards and mobile wallets has reached a tipping point, exemplified by Canada’s 3.4 billion mobile contactless transactions in 2024 and the United Kingdom’s 92% tap rate. To remain competitive, merchants are accelerating terminal refresh cycles toward NFC-enabled models or adopting SoftPOS that leverages the built-in antenna on smartphones.

Speed and convenience drive this migration. Contactless swipes average 15 seconds versus up to 45 seconds for PIN entry, translating into shorter queues and higher throughput in retail and hospitality. While compliance-driven verticals such as fuel or high-value ticketing will sustain contact-based methods, the growth premium for contactless is expected to keep widening as mobile wallet ecosystems expand loyalty, coupon, and digital-identity features that deepen user engagement.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Device Type
  • Chip and PIN
  • Chip and Signature
  • Contactless and NFC
  • Magnetic-Stripe-Only
  • Biometric-Enabled
• By Mode of Payment
  • Contact-based
  • Contactless
• By End-User Industry
  • Retail
  • Hospitality
  • Healthcare
  • Transportation and Logistics
  • Other End-User Industries
• By Deployment Mode
  • On-Premise
  • Cloud-Based and SaaS
• By Geography
  • North America
    • United States
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Rest of South America
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • United Kingdom
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Rest of Europe
  • Asia-Pacific
    • China
    • Japan
    • India
    • South Korea
    • Southeast Asia
    • Rest of Asia-Pacific
  • Middle East
    • Saudi Arabia
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Rest of Middle East
  • Africa
    • South Africa
    • Egypt
    • Rest of Africa

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific contributed 29.41% of global revenue in 2025 and is forecast to post a 6.02% CAGR through 2031, the fastest of any region. Momentum stems from India’s UPI, which recorded 16.73 billion transactions in December 2024, and China’s Alipay Plus, which lets Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian merchants accept payments from Chinese visitors via QR code without new hardware. Japan and South Korea are migrating from magnetic stripe to NFC ahead of regulatory sunsets, while Australia’s tap-and-go penetration tops 95%. Rural broadband in India and Indonesia hovers below 40%, and inconsistent electricity in Bangladesh and Vietnam limits always-on deployment.

North America ranks second in size. The region’s early EMV liability shift front-loaded hardware upgrades, so current demand revolves around replacing legacy units with contactless and biometric models. Canada’s 3.4 billion mobile contactless payments in 2024 showcase the consumer uptake, and Mexico’s fintech-driven merchant onboarding adds incremental headroom. Growth is steady but trails Asia-Pacific, reflecting market maturity and high existing penetration.

Europe’s trajectory hinges on PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication, which is driving premium hardware refresh even as SoftPOS cannibalizes entry tiers. Markets such as France and Germany are retrofitting terminals with fingerprint sensors to meet exemption thresholds, while micro-merchants adopt smartphone-based acceptance to avoid capital outlays. South America is propelled by Brazil’s Pix instant-payment system that exceeded 40 billion transfers in 2024, integrating QR acceptance directly into point-of-sale software. The Middle East benefits from smart-city investments in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, whereas Africa remains constrained by power availability, forcing hybrid offline-first deployments despite strong mobile-money ecosystems.

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

• Block Inc. (Square)
• Fiserv Inc. (Clover)
• VeriFone Inc.
• PAX Technology Ltd.
• Newland Payment Technology
• BBPOS Ltd.
• SumUp Payments Ltd.
• PayPal Zettle
• Adyen N.V.
• Lightspeed Commerce Inc.
• Shopify Inc. (Shop POS)
• Toast Inc.
• NCR Voyix Corp.
• HP Development Company L.P.
• NEC Corporation
• Panasonic Holdings Corp.
• Spectra Technologies India Pvt Ltd.
• Posiflex Technology Inc.
• Oracle Micros Systems
• North American Bancard (PayAnywhere)
• Yoco Technologies Pty Ltd.
• myPOS World Ltd.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support