The Eastern Appeal of POS Systems

The broadened accessibility of POS Systems by virtue of the competitiveness of the market for POS equipment has vastly broadened the appeal of these systems to merchants all over the world. POS terminals are now the preferred way of processing credit cards, debit cards, checks, smart chip cards, etc. in a retail environment. As countries in East, South, and Central Asia vie to establish new, larger roles for themselves in the global economy, increasing numbers of merchants in these regions are making the vital transition to using POS terminals at their establishments.

As might be expected, China, India, and Russia are leading the expansion of Asian POS terminal networks. POS networks are are experiencing landmark growth in these countries. A recent joint venture between ICICI Bank and First Data Corporation in India will expand ICICI’s network of terminals from 150,000 to 500,000 terminals over the next five (5) years. In China, the number of credit cards in circulation is expected to double by 2013. Prospects such as these reflect Asia’s burgeoning culture of consumerism, which stems from the continent’s rise in economic power in the last decade.

Having gained significant acceptance in the large urban cities of the more affluent Asian countries, POS terminals are now making their way to smaller cities and other countries throughout the region. Cashless transactions have the potential to help remove some of the many cultural, geographic, and economic barriers between the developed, developing, and under-developed worlds. This past December, 30 POS terminals were installed at 12 different markets in Tashkent, the capital of the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan. This measure was taken by merchants in response to growing need for function POS terminals, especially since 70-80% of Uzbekistani government employees’ salaries are directly deposited onto debit cards.

Certainly, the majority of Asia still uses cash as their primary method of payment; but there is marked evidence of a burgeoning continental paradigm shift toward cashless transactions akin to the one currently in full swing in North America and Europe.