Payment is everywhere: The quiet reinvention of Point of Sale

For decades, the Point of Sale was a fixed destination: a counter, a terminal, a moment at the end of the customer journey. That mental model is now obsolete.

As Global Payments’ 2026 Commerce and Payment Trends Report makes clear, payment is no longer a place but a capability — one that follows the customer wherever commerce happens.

From Countertop to Context

The modern POS has slipped its physical moorings. Smartphones and tablets can now function as fully fledged payment devices, allowing transactions to occur tableside, kerbside, courtside or trackside.

This shift is not cosmetic. It reflects a deeper change in consumer expectations: speed, convenience and relevance now matter more than formality.

In restaurants, for example, kiosks can dynamically adjust menus based on time of day or even the weather, while handheld “line-busting” devices in drive-throughs compress queues and increase throughput.

The significance is strategic. When payment is embedded directly into the flow of service, it becomes a facilitator of experience rather than an interruption.

Cloud, Convergence and Control

Behind the scenes, cloud-based POS platforms are doing the heavy lifting. These systems unify payment acceptance, inventory, invoicing, promotions and reporting within a single environment.

For merchants, this consolidation reduces operational friction and lowers the technical barrier to deploying enterprise-grade capabilities.

The report highlights that more than 85% of midsized US retailers already rely on mobile POS solutions, particularly in environments that demand speed and coordination, such as sports venues, healthcare facilities and transport hubs.

Crucially, these platforms are increasingly “plug-and-play”, avoiding the drag of bespoke integrations that once slowed adoption.

Data Becomes the Real Product

As POS systems proliferate, their value is shifting decisively from transaction processing to insight generation.

Real-time analytics now sit at the top of merchants’ investment priorities, enabling visibility into sales trends, peak demand and product performance.

These insights, in turn, support more adaptive strategies, including dynamic pricing.

That said, the report is careful to note the controversy. While dynamic pricing can optimise margins and labour allocation, it also risks consumer backlash if perceived as opportunistic.

The tension is reflected in survey data showing strong interest in analytics, but more cautious enthusiasm for automated price adjustments.

Biometrics and the Vanishing Checkout

Perhaps the most striking evolution is how identity itself is becoming the interface.

Biometric authentication — fingerprints, facial recognition and voice commands — is reshaping both security and usability.

Passkeys based on FIDO standards promise password-free online checkouts, while fingerprint-enabled POS terminals can tie transactions directly to employees, reducing internal fraud.

In high-volume settings, voice-activated ordering and payment are already delivering measurable gains in accuracy and speed.

Elsewhere, vehicles themselves are becoming points of sale, with licence plate recognition enabling seamless parking, charging and payment without a wallet ever leaving a pocket.

The Strategic Implication

The message is unambiguous: POS is no longer a terminal purchase but a strategic platform.

Merchants that treat it as such gain not just faster payments, but cleaner workflows, richer data and greater freedom to design commerce around customers rather than constraints. Payment, in short, is everywhere — and that is precisely the point.