Microsoft, PayPal Woo Small Businesses Away from Cash Registers with Mobile POS

Five Ways Mobile and Cloud are Helping Build Better Bonds with Customers

It seems no business is safe from the influx of mobile devices that have been infiltrating company networks. These small (and not so small) pieces of amazing wireless technology have replaced various equipment around the office, from PCs to laptops to PDAs and overhead projectors.  It’s all about ease of use and freedom to move from boardroom to cubicle to airport and even onto the showroom floor. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see the cash register become the next possibly obsolete business-related machine.

Recently, Microsoft has teamed up with PayPal (which formerly only supplied devices that worked with the iOS and Android operating systems) to provide small businesses with a way to use their Windows mobile devices for mobile POS systems. Microsoft unveiled the new product at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York, and is pushing the PayPal device’s tight integration with the Surface Pro 3.

Of course, Microsoft claims that the Windows OS is one that most technology users are familiar with, so it makes sense to join with PayPal to offer a “robust POS system” that works well with Microsoft’s mobile products. According to PYMNTS.com, Microsoft has the POS game covered:

The PayPal Here/Surface platform offers all of the power and functionality of a Windows OS computing platform, all of the portability of a mobile POS device, and all of the utility and convenience of a tablet, including the ability to use a stylus to write on the screen and sign.

A variety of hardware options give merchants who want it a fully functional register and cash wrap, USB ports that can enable separate card swipe devices for higher volume merchants, scanners, printers and other peripherals.

PayPal Vice President of Retail, Brad Brodigan, told Mobile Payments Today that today’s small businesses require agile, flexible solutions:

“To me, the most important piece [of the mobile point-of-sale market] is to provide solutions that are flexible enough to meet the needs of all types of merchants, and that’s why this partnership with Microsoft is so important for us.”

PayPal Here is already known for its efficient, inexpensive checkout service that is simple to use for both customers and retailers. The teaming of the Surface Pro 3 and the PayPal Here device makes for a smart business combination for smaller retailers. They can have access to their inventory, financial apps, email and POS all in one place and it’s mobile.

According to Mobile World Live, PayPal Here will be available for use on the Surface Pro 3 along with the Lumia 830 and 635 smartphones. Also, the SDK for PayPal Here is available for Windows app developers.

Kim Mays has been editing and writing about IT since 1999. She currently tackles the topics of small to midsize business technology and introducing new tools for IT. Follow Kim on Google+ or Twitter.