{"id":15608,"date":"2026-03-05T09:56:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T08:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/?post_type=glosario&#038;p=15608"},"modified":"2026-03-05T09:57:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T08:57:22","slug":"physical-pos","status":"publish","type":"glosario","link":"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/physical-pos\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical POS"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_physical_POS\"><\/span><b>What is a physical POS?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/solution\/physical-pos\/\"><b>physical POS<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Point of Sale Terminal), commonly known as a physical card terminal, is a device used in stores to <\/span><b>accept <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/card-present-cp\/\"><b>in-person payments<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is the standard system in physical shops, restaurants, and businesses with direct customer service, where the transaction takes place on-site.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_does_a_physical_POS_work\"><\/span><b>How does a physical POS work?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The payment process with a physical POS takes just a few seconds and follows these steps:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The customer inserts the card into the terminal (EMV chip), swipes it through the magnetic stripe, or makes a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/contactless\/\"><b>contactless payment (NFC)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The POS <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/tokenization\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">encrypts the transaction information<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and sends it to the <\/span><b>acquiring bank<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> via the payment processor.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>card network<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (as Visa or Mastercard) connects with the customer\u2019s <\/span><b>issuing bank <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to request <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/authentication\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">authorization<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The issuing bank validates the transaction and returns an approval or denial response.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The physical POS displays the transaction result in real time and, if applicable, prints or sends a payment receipt.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Types_of_physical_POS\"><\/span><b>Types of physical POS<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/solution\/physical-pos\/\"><b>different devices for in-person payments<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, adapted to the needs of each business:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Attended POS<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Designed for environments with direct customer service, such as retail stores, hospitality, and restaurants, where staff assists the customer during payment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Unattended POS<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ideal for self-service systems or locations without direct staff interaction, such as kiosks, gas stations, parking lots, or vending machines. These devices allow the customer to complete the purchase and payment autonomously and quickly.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Payment_methods_supported_by_a_physical_POS\"><\/span><b>Payment methods supported by a physical POS<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PaynoPain physical POS devices support a wide range of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/solution\/payment-methods\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">payment methods<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. With <\/span><b>over 50 payment options available<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, they adapt to both business needs and customer preferences. Main payment methods include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Credit and debit cards<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Supports major brands like <\/span><b>Visa<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Mastercard<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Contactless payments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Includes tap-to-pay from physical cards or mobile devices. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/wallet-digital\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital wallets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/payment-methods\/apple-pay\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apple Pay<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/payment-methods\/google-pay\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Pay<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are also supported.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/local-payment-methods\/\"><b>Local payment methods<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Adapted to each country, such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/payment-methods\/bizum\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bizum<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Spain or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/payment-methods\/mb-way\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MB Way<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Portugal, ensuring customers can pay in the most common and reliable way for their region.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Differences_between_physical_POS_and_virtual_POS\"><\/span><b>Differences between physical POS and virtual POS<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding the difference between a physical POS and a virtual POS is essential for any business that wants to accept customer payments:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Physical POS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Designed for<\/span><b> in-person payments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in stores, restaurants, hotels, or any physical establishment where the customer interacts directly with the terminal.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/solution\/virtual-pos\/\"><b>Virtual POS<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Designed for online payments in <\/span><b>ecommerce, marketplaces, or any digital platform<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, meaning payments are made over the internet. It does not require a physical device at the point of sale, but rather an online version.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a physical POS?<br \/>\nA physical POS (Point of Sale Terminal), commonly known as a physical card terminal, is a device used in stores to accept in-person payments. It is the standard system in physical shops, restaurants, and businesses with direct customer service, where the transaction takes place on-site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15723,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-15608","glosario","type-glosario","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Physical POS terminal: what it is, how it works and types - PaynoPain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what a physical POS terminal is, how in-store payments work, its types (attended and unattended), and which payment methods it accepts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/physical-pos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Physical POS terminal: what it is, how it works and types - 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