Phos, the global leader in software point of sale (softpos) orchestration for businesses, has launched a Tap to Pay solution in North America with global acquirer Elavon.

The solution will enable Independent Sales Organisations (ISOs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) in the US and Canada to turn mobile devices into contactless payment terminals.

The deal marks the first of many acquiring partnerships being targeted by the fintech, as phos eyes expansion in the North America market. The size of the opportunity is clear, with a total of 64 million merchants in the US alone that do not currently accept card payments.

This reliance on legacy technology and a lack of affordable alternatives greatly reduces the payment options for customers and minimises potential revenue for businesses in the region.

In bringing Tap to Pay to the market, ISOs in North America can now use phos’ leading software-only POS solution to accept card payments directly on any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet, in a secure and contactless way.

The cross-platform solution can be used standalone or embedded into an application, depending on partner requirements, without the need for costly additional hardware i.e. traditional chip and pin machines.

Phos offers a scheme-certified application if any partner wishes to use their existing application and there are various app-app and web-app integration options available.

Brad Hyett, CEO of phos, said: “We’ve been at the heart of the contactless revolution in Europe, so we’re pleased to have selected Elavon to bring our innovative softPoS technology to merchants across the United States and Canada.

“We’re excited to work with the first ISOs in the North America region interested in deploying software point of sale technology and equipping them with a solution that works across a range of devices and mobile operating systems. Our partnership with Elavon will be the first of many in the North America market, with additional acquirer connections planned over the coming months to help us reach more merchants across the region.”

The partnership will enable existing Elavon partners to expand their acceptance capability to include a range of contactless acceptance solutions.

Phos currently has 14 certified acquirer connections globally and plans to increase this number exponentially to satisfy the needs of tier-one providers and requirements in each market. Additional acquiring certifications are currently in progress and will be announced before the end of the year.