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share to keep app developers engaged, but can charge
high prices for its own devices because its customers are
locked in.

There's only one Apple with sufficient clout to maintain
this type of exclusivity and its adverse consequences on
competition, cost and choice. Apple provides its customers
with a limited selection of current smartphones and tablets
at premium prices. Meanwhile, the global market share
of Apple's iOS operating system is just over 22 percent,
compared to more than 76 percent for the thousands of
devices running the Android operating system, according
to Statcounter GlobalStats' Mobile Operating System Market
Share Worldwide study.
Don't get boxed in on Apple has also been accused of co-opting the value-add

of its partners. As Reed Albergotti wrote in "How Apple
payment acceptance uses its App Store to copy the best ideas," published Sept.
5, 2019 in the Washington Post, "Developers have come to
accept that, without warning, Apple can make their work
By Eddie Johnson obsolete by announcing a new app or feature that uses or
incorporates their ideas. Some apps have simply buckled
AEVI under the pressure, in some cases shutting down."

he future of payments lies outside of traditional Avoid vendor constraints
fixed payment terminals that sit atop so many
merchant countertops. Those classic terminals Acquirers, processors, ISOs and merchant level salespeople
T that jump-started the electronic payments revo- can't afford to be boxed in by constraints imposed by
lution have in recent years limited the ability of merchants device vendors who aspire to become the Apple of the
to innovate in the face of changing consumer behavior and POS world. If you're tied to one device or family of devices,
competition from ecommerce. you're limited in your flexibility to create value-added
solutions for merchants. More choice and more flexibility
There's broad recognition today that today's smart POS will more fully engage merchants and consumers, leaving
must embrace a wide portfolio of software apps that provide them less inclined to opt for alternative providers.
merchants new capabilities both in terms of consumer-
facing features and back-office functionality. Increased There's an obvious difference between the POS device
consumer satisfaction and improved productivity and market and that of consumer mobile devices in general.
profitability are essential for success in physical commerce When it comes to payment systems, there's a critical layer
and in embracing the potential of omni commerce. of added security that must be employed to ensure that
rogue apps don't compromise transactions. Adopting
Merchants, service providers and hardware vendors a standardized approach helps unify security between
can no longer afford to restrain the capabilities of in- devices from different vendors.
store commerce. While we're seeing movement toward
a more open payments environment, many newer smart A device-agnostic application platform that provides
POS providers are eager to lock in merchants to highly security and the flexibility to work with existing and
restricted solutions that limit flexibility and adaptability. future hardware vendors can ensure that acquirers and
ISOs are able to quickly adapt to changes in the market
Avoiding 'walled garden' solutions and to the needs of merchants.

Much of the industry is still device-focused when what Speed, flexibility and choice
acquirers and merchants really need is a flexible platform.
Even while embracing the concept of app marketplaces, All professionals on the acquiring side must be able to
many new-generation device vendors want to wall off speed up the onboarding process, offer flexibility to
their marketplaces so that only their devices can access mix and match hardware devices – including classic
those apps. In essence, they want to replicate the closed terminals – and accommodate new payment methods
environments that classic terminal vendors enjoyed. when merchants and consumers demand them. Classic
terminals and walled-garden smart POS solutions alone
Even if they utilize Android-based devices, those types cannot meet those needs in a timely, cost-effective manner.
of solution providers are seeking to replicate the "walled
garden" approach that Apple created: it has enough market POS terminal certifications have long been the major
constraint on innovation in the payments industry. Payment
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