Castles Technology wins PCI validation for SoftPOS trio

Castles Technology has completed PCI Mobile Payments on COTS validation across all three parts of its SoftPOS portfolio: its software, attestation and monitoring service, and end-to-end CastlesPay MPoC solution.

This gives acquirers, payment service providers, gateways and independent software vendors a choice of integrating Castles Technology's software development kit into their own applications, using its security monitoring service, or deploying a full phone-based card acceptance product.

SoftPOS, which allows merchants to accept card payments on smartphones and tablets, is becoming a bigger part of the payments market as businesses seek alternatives to traditional payment terminals. It is used in settings including hospitality table service, queue management, delivery operations, field sales and temporary retail sites.

PCI MPoC is the security standard for software-based payments on commercial off-the-shelf devices. It covers payment acceptance on those devices and requires controls around the security of the device environment, including attestation and monitoring.

Castles Technology had already obtained validation for its MPoC software. The latest step adds validation for its Attestation and Monitoring Service and its full MPoC solution, broadening its offering for payments firms that want different levels of control over deployment.

Under this structure, a partner with its own merchant application can integrate the isolated MPoC SDK while retaining control over branding and user workflows. A business that does not want to build its own monitoring infrastructure can use the hosted attestation and monitoring service instead.

For firms seeking a more packaged route, the CastlesPay MPoC solution offers an end-to-end model with lower development and integration requirements. The system supports Android devices and includes contactless acceptance and PIN entry on the handset.

Different routes

Castles Technology presents the three-part portfolio as a way to serve payment providers at different stages of SoftPOS adoption. Some may want to embed payments in an existing app, while others may prefer to rely on a third party for the supporting security framework required by the PCI standard.

More broadly, phone-based acceptance is expanding, particularly among merchants that want mobility or do not need a dedicated terminal at every point of sale. For smaller businesses, SoftPOS can also provide a route into card acceptance without the cost of traditional hardware.

Its SoftPOS products sit alongside Castles Technology's Android payment terminals and managed payment services. That reflects the view that phone-based acceptance will coexist with dedicated payment devices rather than replace them outright, especially for businesses operating across multiple sales environments.

Jean-Philippe Niedergang, Chief Executive Officer, EMEA, Pacific and LATAM, at Castles Technology, said: "SoftPOS has reached the point where the question for many payment providers is no longer simply whether to offer it, but how. Some want to own the entire experience, while others want to get to market quickly or avoid building complex security infrastructure themselves. By validating our software, our monitoring service and a complete solution, we can meet partners wherever they are in that journey and help them bring secure SoftPOS acceptance to market in the way that best fits their business."

Castles Technology serves banks, merchants, fintechs, acquirers, ISVs and PSPs, and has built its business around Android-based payment acceptance products and services. Its SoftPOS expansion adds another option for payment providers deciding whether to build, outsource or buy a full software-based acceptance system.

Validation across software, monitoring and an end-to-end product gives Castles Technology a broader position in a market where security compliance remains a central hurdle for providers bringing smartphone-based card acceptance to merchants.