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POS Terminals Market Forecast Size, Growth & Trends | 11.6% CAGR
POS Terminals Market Size, Share, Growth, and Forecast 2025–2034 | Contactless Payments, Cloud POS, AI-Integrated Retail Analytics, Mobility Solutions, and Secure EMV/NFC Transactions Transforming Payment Ecosystems; Expansion of E-Commerce, QSRs, Convenience Retail, and Financial Inclusion Driving Global POS Innovation and Adoption
Report Overview
The POS Terminals Market is valued at approximately USD 105.6 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach nearly USD 322.4 Billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of about 11.6% during 2025–2034. The shift toward contactless payments, cloud-based POS, and AI-driven retail automation is accelerating global adoption. As omnichannel commerce grows and SMEs embrace digital payments, POS terminals are rapidly transforming from simple transaction tools into full-scale business intelligence platforms.
Beneath this headline trajectory, market expansion reflects a structural shift from cash to digital and omnichannel payments, as retailers, restaurants, and service providers standardize on connected, software-rich endpoints. The mix continues to evolve from legacy countertop devices to mobile, handheld, and software-defined terminals embedded in tablets and smartphones. Handheld adoption alone more than doubled within five years—reaching 61% of operators by 2022 versus just under 30% in 2017—supporting line-busting, tableside ordering, and curbside fulfillment. Parallel to hardware change, cloud POS is scaling rapidly from a base of roughly USD 3.9 billion in 2022 toward more than USD 30 billion by 2031 (≈25% CAGR), underpinned by subscription models, remote management, and API ecosystems.
Demand-side catalysts include rising card, contactless, and mobile wallet usage; in the U.S., Apple Pay is now accepted at an estimated 65% of POS endpoints. Merchants increasingly view POS as a data hub: around 90% of restaurants report using POS analytics to sharpen pricing, loyalty, menu engineering, and digital engagement, while 43% planned upgrades in 2024 emphasizing mobility and cloud integration. Security and compliance remain non-negotiable, with EMV migration accelerating—adoption has surged more than fivefold in the past five years—alongside ongoing PCI DSS requirements and tokenization. At the same time, operational risks persist: manual entry errors still drive over 70% of retail transaction mistakes, and fragmentation across acquirers, software stacks, and value-added services can hinder total cost optimization.
Technology roadmaps center on contactless (NFC), QR orchestration, and biometric verification, coupled with AI-enabled fraud detection, inventory automation, and real-time decisioning at the edge. Integrated devices such as BharatPe One illustrate the shift toward consolidated, multi-rail acceptance and merchant UX simplification. Regionally, North America and Western Europe lead on penetration and advanced compliance, while Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing investment theater, propelled by smartphone ubiquity, super-app ecosystems, and government cashless agendas across India and Southeast Asia. Latin America and parts of the Middle East/Africa are emerging hotspots as fintech rails expand and micro-merchant acceptance climbs. Investors should prioritize platforms that pair hardware versatility with cloud-native software, security credentials, and open APIs to monetize payments-adjacent services.
Key Takeaways
- Market Growth: The global POS Terminals market is projected to reach USD 322.4 Billion by 2034, up from USD 105.6 Billion in 2024, reflecting a 11.6% CAGR (2024–2033). Expansion is underpinned by the shift to cashless transactions, omnichannel retailing, and software-rich, cloud-connected endpoints.
- Segment Dominance – Product Type: Fixed POS remains the revenue leader with >62% share, sustained by high-throughput environments (grocery, QSR, big box) requiring robust peripherals and stable integrations. Mobile and handheld units are gaining, enabling line-busting and tableside ordering without displacing fixed counters in peak-volume sites.
- Segment Dominance – Deployment Model: Cloud-based POS exceeds 50% share, driven by subscription pricing, remote device management, and API ecosystems. Cloud POS is on a faster curve, projected to surpass USD 30 billion by 2031 (~25% CAGR from a USD 3.9 billion 2022 base).
- Driver: Merchant digitalization is accelerating: 65% of U.S. terminals now accept Apple Pay, EMV adoption has surged ~590% in five years, and ~90% of restaurants utilize POS analytics for pricing, loyalty, and menu optimization—fueling refresh cycles and software attach.
- Restraint: Workflow and integration frictions persist; manual entry errors account for >70% of retail transaction mistakes, inflating chargebacks and reconciliation costs. Fragmented acquirer/software stacks also raise total cost of ownership for multi-site operators.
- Opportunity: APAC’s formalization of micro-merchant acceptance and SoftPOS/tap-to-pay unlocks outsized upside; retail remains the largest end use with >40% share, while hospitality and food service upgrade paths (with 43% of operators planning new POS evaluations in 2024) create fertile ground for cloud migrations and value-added services.
- Trend: Rapid pivot to handheld/mobile POS—usage reached 61% of operators in 2022 (vs. <30% in 2017)—and to integrated devices (e.g., all-in-one QR/NFC/card units) is standardizing multi-rail acceptance. AI-enabled fraud screening, real-time inventory sync, and biometric/NFC authentication are moving from pilots to mainstream roadmaps.
- Regional Analysis: Asia–Pacific leads with >38% global share and >USD 35 billion in revenues, propelled by smartphone ubiquity and pro-cashless policies. North America and Western Europe contribute high ARPU and compliance-driven refresh, while Latin America and MEA are emerging hotspots as fintech rails deepen and micro-merchant onboarding scales.
Component Analysis
Hardware remains the economic anchor of POS deployments in 2025, still accounting for just over half of market revenues (≈54% in 2023) as enterprises replace legacy terminals with EMV-, NFC-, and biometric-ready devices built for high-throughput lanes and rugged field use. Upgrade cycles are reinforced by evolving security standards and rising acceptance of mobile wallets—e.g., ~65% of U.S. terminals accept Apple Pay—requiring refreshed card readers, scanners, and peripherals.
Software is expanding faster than hardware as merchants standardize on cloud-native suites for inventory, loyalty, analytics, and fraud controls. Recurring SaaS models, open APIs, and app marketplaces are lifting software attach rates and ARPU, with cloud POS estimated to grow from roughly USD 3.9 billion (2022) toward USD 30+ billion by 2031 (~25% CAGR), reshaping vendor economics toward subscriptions. Services—managed support, field maintenance, and payment orchestration—are increasingly bundled, compressing downtime and improving multi-location uptime SLAs.
By Product Type
Fixed POS terminals remain the backbone in supermarkets, big-box retail, and QSR, capturing >62% share in 2023 and sustaining leadership through durable build, peripheral density (scales, scanners, kiosks), and advanced security/compliance. Their lower lifetime TCO in peak-volume settings and seamless integration with ERP/WMS keep them central to modernization programs through 2025.
Wireless POS is the fastest-advancing lane in hospitality and specialty retail as operators scale pay-at-table and curbside flows; handheld usage reached ~61% of operators by 2022 (vs. <30% in 2017), and continues to rise with Wi-Fi 6/5G connectivity and battery improvements. Mobile POS (tablet/smartphone-based) accelerates micro-merchant onboarding and pop-up formats, with SoftPOS/tap-to-pay reducing dedicated hardware needs and opening long-tail acceptance in emerging markets.
Deployment Analysis
Cloud-based POS surpassed 50% share in 2023 and is on course to approach two-thirds of new deployments by 2030 as chains prioritize remote device management, real-time data sync, and zero-touch updates. Subscription pricing, rapid feature rollouts, and native integrations (accounting, CRM, e-commerce) compress time-to-value and enable continuous compliance.
On-premise remains relevant in latency-sensitive or tightly regulated environments that require deterministic control, offline resilience, or bespoke integrations. Hybrid architectures—local processing with cloud analytics and configuration—are increasingly common, balancing reliability with innovation velocity.
Operating System Analysis
Windows/Linux collectively held >48% share in 2023 and continue to dominate enterprise estates in 2025 thanks to driver maturity, broad ISV ecosystems, and compatibility with complex peripheral stacks. Large retailers leverage these platforms for custom applications, hardened images, and centralized patching aligned with strict governance.
Android is gaining ground in handheld and kiosk form factors due to lower device cost, rapid UI iteration, and rich developer tooling; its growth aligns with SoftPOS adoption and ODM variety. iOS remains niche but influential in premium hospitality and SMBs, buoyed by “tap to pay” capabilities and strong device security, particularly in owner-operator settings.
By End-User
Retail leads with >40% share, driven by omnichannel journeys (BOPIS/ROPIS), contactless adoption, and real-time inventory visibility that reduces shrink and stockouts. Chains prioritize analytics at the terminal; ~90% of restaurants already use POS data for pricing, loyalty, and menu optimization, a practice now mirrored by large retailers for assortment and labor planning.
Restaurants and hospitality are upgrading to handhelds and kitchen display systems to raise table turns and tip capture; 43% of operators evaluated or planned new POS in 2024, supporting continued refresh in 2025. Healthcare and warehouse deployments are expanding with barcode/RFID workflows, bedside or dockside payments, and tighter integration to EHR/WMS for auditability and charge integrity.
Regional Analysis
Asia Pacific is the volume leader with >38% share and revenues above USD 35 billion, propelled by smartphone ubiquity, super-app ecosystems, and cashless policies across China, India, and Southeast Asia. Domestic OEMs are innovating around biometric verification and QR/NFC multi-rail acceptance, accelerating refresh cycles.
North America and Europe exhibit high ARPU and steady replacements under stringent security and data privacy regimes; EMV migration and wallet acceptance (e.g., Apple Pay at ~65% of U.S. terminals) keep hardware/software footprints modern. Latin America and the Middle East & Africa are the fastest-growing arenas as fintech rails deepen and SoftPOS lowers entry barriers for micro- and nano-merchants, creating outsized unit growth from a smaller base.
Market Key Segments
By Component
- Hardware
- Software
- Service
By Product Type
- Fixed POS Terminals
- Wireless POS Terminals
- Mobile POS Terminals
By Deployment
- On-Premise
- Cloud-Based
- Operating System
- Window/Linux
- Android
- iOS
By End-User
- Restaurants
- Retail
- Hospitality
- Healthcare
- Warehouse
- Other End-Users
By Regions
- North America
- Latin America
- East Asia And Pacific
- Sea And South Asia
- Eastern Europe
- Western Europe
- Middle East & Africa
Driver:
Contactless Adoption Accelerating POS Terminal Refresh Cycles
By 2025, in-person payments are decisively “tap-first,” with contactless now accounting for the majority of card-present transactions in mature markets and rapidly catching up elsewhere. This behavioral shift, combined with near-universal EMV in developed economies and the rollout of “tap to pay” on commercial smartphones, is catalyzing accelerated terminal refresh cycles. Merchants are standardizing on cloud-connected endpoints that embed analytics and AI at the edge—optimizing queue times, flagging fraud patterns in real time, and personalizing offers. The result is a larger software attach per device and a richer services mix, supporting the market’s ~9–10% CAGR through 2033 and elevating lifetime value per installed terminal.
Restraint:
Security & Compliance Complexity Restricting Market Scalability
Security and compliance remain material headwinds as attack surfaces expand from fixed counters to fleets of handhelds and SoftPOS devices. Meeting PCI DSS 4.0 requirements, maintaining encryption/tokenization, and ensuring continuous patching across heterogeneous estates add meaningful operating complexity and cost; for multi-site operators, total cost of ownership can rise by high single digits when factoring certification, device management, and staff training. Interoperability issues across acquirers, ISVs, and value-added apps can prolong integrations and slow rollouts, while component lead times—though improved—still create planning risk for large-scale refresh programs.
Opportunity:
SoftPOS and Mobile Acceptance Unlocking High-Growth Opportunities
SoftPOS and mobile-first acceptance represent the clearest white space. As tap-to-pay on Android and iOS scales, millions of micro- and small merchants in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA can onboard without dedicated hardware, expanding the addressable base and unleashing a high-growth segment projected to compound at ~30–35% annually through 2030. At the enterprise end, cloud POS and open APIs unlock incremental revenue from value-added services—loyalty, real-time inventory, pay-by-link, and BNPL—pushing software and services to a larger share of POS economics. Together, these vectors create a multi-billion-dollar incremental revenue pool for vendors and acquirers that pair acceptance with data-driven software.
Trend:
Shift Toward Modular, AI-Enabled and Software-Defined POS Systems
The architecture of POS is shifting from monolithic counters to modular, handheld, and software-defined endpoints. Handheld adoption in restaurants, quick-serve, and specialty retail has moved toward mainstream penetration by 2025, supported by Wi-Fi 6/5G connectivity, longer battery life, and ruggedized designs. Parallel advances—biometric authentication, QR-NFC multi-rail acceptance, and on-device AI for fraud, item recognition, and loss prevention—are moving from pilot to scale. Vendors are converging hardware, software, and payment orchestration into unified platforms, enabling faster feature releases and monetization of post-transaction services, and intensifying competition around ecosystem breadth rather than just device specs.
Key Player Analysis
Acrelec: Positioned as a leader/innovator in self-service and drive-thru enablement, Acrelec has scaled to more than 120,000 solutions installed across 70+ markets, with independent tracking placing the firm at ~14% of global kiosk installations—a meaningful share for a specialist platform (kiosks, digital menuboards, order readiness). Its portfolio spans cash-enabled kiosks co-developed with recycler technology partners, computer-vision add-ons, and integrations with major POS back-ends, enabling large QSR chains to lift throughput and average ticket while consolidating vendors.
Strategically, Acrelec has accelerated ecosystem reach via platform integrations (e.g., NCR Aloha, Brink) and targeted services M&A (Odema in the UK), while a 2025 brand refresh emphasized R&D velocity and global delivery. Differentiation rests on end-to-end delivery (hardware, software, and field services) and the ability to support multi-rail acceptance (QR/NFC/cash) in a single kiosk, a combination that aligns with 2025 priorities—labor efficiency, contactless adoption, and AI-assisted operations.
AURES Group: AURES is best characterized as a design-led challenger evolving into a broader platform player through the ADVANTECH-AURES alliance. The 2025 joint branding expands channel access and cross-selling across POS and kiosk form factors, with the YUNO C refresh underscoring a roadmap geared to higher performance, thermal efficiency, and global availability—timed to EuroCIS/NRF Europe showcases.
Its differentiation lies in sleek, modular terminals that balance aesthetics with durability for specialty retail and hospitality, now backed by Advantech’s manufacturing scale and perimeter offerings (UTK/UTC/UBX). The combined portfolio targets faster cloud-POS and mobile-wallet deployments while lowering total cost of ownership through standardized platforms and broader after-sales coverage across EMEA and APAC.
HM Electronics (HME): HME is a category leader in QSR communications and drive-thru technology, supporting 30+ million orders daily in 140+ countries via headsets, timers, and drive-thru optimization systems—an installed base that gives it outsized influence on in-person service flows. In 2025, HME advanced into edge-AI with Nitro Vision AI, integrating computer vision to reduce dwell times and errors, and building on prior voice-AI showcases to reposition the lane as a data-rich, automated environment.
The company’s strategic edge is an end-to-end stack—communications hardware, software analytics, and service—that can be layered onto existing POS estates without major front-counter disruption. Historic acquisitions (e.g., Clear-Com) extended engineering depth in real-time audio and mission-critical comms, supporting sustained innovation cycles and premium service SLAs favored by enterprise QSR operators.
Hewlett Packard Development (HP Retail Solutions): HP operates as a scale leader with a full HP Engage portfolio covering all-in-one, modular, and mobile POS, plus peripherals and kiosks, giving enterprises a single vendor across store formats. The emphasis on lifecycle stability, device management, and enterprise security positions HP as a preferred backbone for multi-country retailers standardizing on cloud-connected endpoints and analytics-ready hardware in 2025.
Differentiation stems from global service reach, long product lifecycles, and robust ISV certifications, with flagship systems like Engage One Pro targeting high-throughput environments that require performance headroom for computer-vision peripherals, biometric authentication, and omnichannel APIs. As retailers ramp AI-enabled loss-prevention and line-busting use cases, HP’s breadth and manageability provide a defensible position against niche entrants and white-label ODMs.
Market Key Players
- Toast Inc.
- Toshiba Corp.
- Quail Digital
- Oracle
- Acrelec
- Presto Group
- Hewlett Packard Development LP
- Revel Systems
- NCR Corp.
- Qu Inc.
- AURES Group
- HM Electronics
- Other Key Players
Recent Developments
Dec 2024 – NCR Voyix: RBR Data Services reaffirmed NCR Voyix as the world’s largest supplier of POS software, underscoring the company’s scale across retail and hospitality estates. Strategic impact: Strengthens pricing power and partner leverage as global chains consolidate software vendors.
Jan 2025 – Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions: At NRF 2025, Toshiba unveiled a refreshed portfolio of self-service and POS hardware, highlighting new modular designs aimed at faster deployments and lower service costs. Strategic impact: Broadens Toshiba’s edge in large-format retail while positioning its platform for AI-enabled store operations.
Feb 2025 – HP (Hewlett Packard Development): HP announced availability of the Engage One Pro G2 and expanded SoftPOS capabilities across fixed, kiosk, and mobile checkout—targeting reduced queue times and higher conversion. Strategic impact: Expands HP’s footprint in omni-checkout and supports migration from legacy Windows-only lanes to mixed device estates.
Apr 2025 – Toast: Toast’s “Spring 2025” release introduced a slate of feature upgrades (15+ enhancements), including workflow and back-office updates designed to raise throughput and cut labor overhead for restaurants. Strategic impact: Increases software attach and stickiness within Toast’s installed base, supporting above-market ARR growth.
Jul 2025 – NCR Voyix: The company reported continued global leadership in self-checkout shipments, with a published 22% share of 2024 units, reflecting sustained demand for assisted and autonomous checkout. Strategic impact: Reinforces NCR’s end-to-end store automation narrative and cross-sell potential into POS software and services.
Sep 2025 – Oracle: UMusic Hotels adopted Oracle’s OPERA Cloud platform with Simphony POS across venues to standardize operations and elevate F&B experiences, signaling continued enterprise wins for Oracle in hospitality. Strategic impact: Validates Oracle’s cloud-first stack as chains seek unified PMS–POS data models and embedded AI for service optimization.
| Report Attribute | Details |
| Market size (2024) | USD 105.6 Billion |
| Forecast Revenue (2034) | USD 322.4 Billion |
| CAGR (2024-2034) | 11.6% |
| Historical data | 2020-2023 |
| Base Year For Estimation | 2024 |
| Forecast Period | 2025-2034 |
| Report coverage | Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Market Dynamics, Growth Factors, Trends and Recent Developments |
| Segments covered | By Component (Hardware, Software, Service), Product Type (Fixed POS Terminals, Wireless POS Terminals, Mobile POS Terminals), Deployment (On-Premise, Cloud-Based), Operating System (Window/Linux, Android, iOS), End-User (Restaurants, Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, Warehouse, Other End-Users) |
| Research Methodology |
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| Regional scope |
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| Competitive Landscape | Toast Inc., Toshiba Corp., Quail Digital, Oracle, Acrelec, Presto Group, Hewlett Packard Development LP, Revel Systems, NCR Corp., Qu Inc., AURES Group, HM Electronics, Other Key Players |
| Customization Scope | Customization for segments, region/country-level will be provided. Moreover, additional customization can be done based on the requirements. |
| Pricing and Purchase Options | Avail customized purchase options to meet your exact research needs. We have three licenses to opt for: Single User License, Multi-User License (Up to 5 Users), Corporate Use License (Unlimited User and Printable PDF). |
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