- 1. Estimated network availability; formal SLA available in Enterprise plans.
Key features
Payment terminals
4G/5G connectivity for mobile and fixed POS with static IP included.
Smart carts
Connected shopping carts with scan & go and automatic payment.
Digital signage
Connected screens and displays for dynamic advertising.
Interactive kiosks
Self-service points, orders and product queries.
Connected inventory
Electronic tags and real-time stock sensors.
Vending machines
Stock telematics, sales and contactless payments.
Use cases
Typical problems
- Fixed-line or store WiFi outage at peak hours leaves the POS unable to charge cards and forces the merchant to refuse plastic until DSL recovers.
- Ingenico Move/5000 or Verifone V200c terminals shipped with the bank's SIM that block portability or operator change, locking the merchant into a single provider with opaque pricing.
- Intra-EU roaming on event, food truck, or pop-up POS that runs up the bill when the device crosses borders and parks on the most expensive available network.
- PCI-DSS audit that requires payment traffic segmentation and a single controlled egress: a shared operator SIM does not meet this without extra work.
- High latency (>3 seconds) on contactless authorization when the SIM uses a network without a direct agreement with the acquirer, generating timeouts and retries.
- Mobile POS (SumUp, iZettle, myPOS) that depend on the salesperson's phone Bluetooth and disconnect as soon as the phone changes network or runs out of battery.
Recommended architecture
- 1
POS terminal with 4G/LTE-M module and multi-operator SIM
Modern terminals (Ingenico Move 5000, Verifone V200c, PAX A920, Castles S1F2) ship with native 4G modems. Load a multi-operator SIM (eSIM or 2FF) that switches across Telefonica/Vodafone/Orange/Yoigo and keep the fixed line as backup only, not primary.
- 2
Private APN with direct tunnel to acquirer or payment gateway
EMV traffic must not hit the public Internet. Private APN + IPsec/MPLS into Redsys, Comercia, Stripe Terminal Gateway, or the bank acquirer. Lower latency, fewer retries, and an auditable encrypted hop.
- 3
Static IP for PCI-DSS compliance and allowlisting
The acquirer filters incoming requests by source IP. Without static IP you depend on shared NAT, which breaks PCI-DSS scope because any pool device could spoof origin. Static IP per terminal (or per store) closes that gap.
- 4
Automatic failover between 4G and fixed line/WiFi
For high-volume merchants (gas station, supermarket), install an industrial router (Teltonika RUT240, Cradlepoint IBR200) with fiber as primary WAN and 4G failover in under 10 seconds. The POS never notices.
- 5
Centralized portal with per-store segmentation
A 200-store retailer needs to see usage and status by location, not by SIM. Tagging by store code, alarms at 70/80/90%, and per-store blocking in case of fraud or loss.
Indicative data plan
| Device | Typical monthly traffic | Recommended plan |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed terminal (Ingenico Move 5000, Verifone V200c) | 20-80 MB/month | Pay-as-you-go or 100 MB pack |
| Android POS (PAX A920, Castles S1F2) | 100-500 MB/month | 500 MB pack |
| Bluetooth mPOS + phone (SumUp, myPOS) | 50-200 MB/month on the phone | 200 MB pack on a dedicated salesperson SIM |
| Self-service kiosk (QSR, parking, ticketing) | 200 MB - 1 GB/month | 1 GB pack with private APN |
| POS 4G backup on fixed-line store (industrial router) | Variable, peak during outage | Pooled data per store |
Indicative figures for traditional retail. QSR with dynamic menus and POS-screen advertising consume significantly more; request a sizing simulation with your real product mix.
When to use static IP
- The acquirer or payment gateway requires source IP allowlisting to accept POS transactions.
- PCI-DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaire B-IP or C requires per-source traceability for every transaction.
- Retail chain with central SIEM that correlates payment logs by source IP and POS asset tag.
- 4G backup on the store router where SD-WAN requires a stable IP to re-establish the tunnel without renegotiation.
When to use private APN
- EMV/PCI traffic must not hit the public Internet: private APN + direct tunnel to the acquirer or gateway.
- Chain with its own data center (Redsys, partner bank) where POS terminals connect via MPLS or IPsec to the internal VPC.
- Regulatory compliance (PCI-DSS, PSD2 SCA, ENS for public entities) requires strict network segmentation and centralized logging.
- International rollout with a single central platform requiring consistent RFC1918 addressing across countries.
Compatible devices
Ingenico Move/5000 and Lane/3000
Fixed and portable terminals with built-in 4G modem, EMV chip + contactless + Apple Pay/Google Pay. De facto standard in European retail. Accepts 2FF SIM or eSIM on newer SKUs.
Verifone V200c, V240m, P400
Contact and contactless terminals with 4G and Ethernet. The m variant for mPOS includes a physical PIN keypad required by some acquirers.
PAX A920, A50, A77
Android POS with touchscreen, scanner, camera. Supports custom apps (loyalty, ticketing) on top of EMV. Very popular in QSR and specialty retail.
Castles Technology S1F2, V3
Android POS for retail and QSR. Variants with 4G + WiFi + Bluetooth and dual SIM option for automatic failover.
SumUp Air / Solo / 3G+
Low-cost mPOS for sole traders and small merchants. Bluetooth to phone, or built-in 4G SIM on 3G+ variants.
myPOS Mini / Pro / Carbon
mPOS and portable terminals with the operator's own white-label 4G SIM and an integrated gateway and reporting app.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need one SIM per terminal or can I share one across several?
- One SIM per terminal is the standard and what most acquirers require for PCI traceability. Sharing a SIM with an industrial router serving multiple POS is viable if the router does controlled NAT and your acquirer accepts the router IP (not each POS), but it complicates audit. Most go with SIM-per-POS when terminals are few and shared router when they are many.
- How does intra-EU roaming affect my event or food-truck POS?
- Under the RLAH regulation, the SIM keeps the home rate as long as use is not permanent outside Spain. For event POS (a weekend in Lyon, a week in Lisbon) the SIM works at home rate. For permanent foreign deployment (a food truck living in Bordeaux), order a SIM with international plan or local SIM at destination.
- Does my POS comply with PCI-DSS over a shared SIM without a private APN?
- It can meet the simplest questionnaire (SAQ B-IP) if the terminal is P2PE validated and the merchant does not store PAN. For SAQ C or above, almost all large chains require private APN and static IP to scope down audit. Ask your acquirer which SAQ applies before choosing architecture.
- What latency should I expect on a contactless transaction over 4G?
- Over 4G in-country with a private APN, 200-600 ms from tap to approval. Over roaming, 500-1500 ms. If you consistently exceed 2 seconds, check coverage (RSSI/RSRP), APN-to-acquirer route, and any intermediate proxy. EMV tolerates around 30 seconds before timeout, but the customer perceives slowness above 2.
- What happens when my store's fixed line goes down?
- If you have an industrial router with 4G failover (Teltonika RUTX10, Cradlepoint IBR200, Peplink), switch is automatic in 5-15 seconds and POS terminals keep charging without the merchant noticing. Without failover, terminals with their own 4G SIM keep working independently; those depending on the router WiFi go down with the line.
- Can I use the same SIM for POS in multiple EU countries?
- Yes, with multi-operator SIM and a multi-IMSI plan. Most European acquirers (Redsys, Worldline, Adyen, Stripe) accept transactions from IPs in any EU country if the merchant ID is enabled for that geography. Confirm with your acquirer first; some restrict by country for anti-fraud reasons.
- How do I block a stolen POS terminal immediately?
- From the IoT operator portal, suspend the SIM in under 1 minute: the terminal goes offline and cannot process charges. Also notify the acquirer to block the merchant ID. POS with a SAM (security access module) self-disable on physical tampering as well.
Pre-deployment checklist
- 1POS inventory: model, modem (2G/3G/4G/LTE-M), SIM format (2FF/3FF/4FF/eSIM), acquirer, merchant ID, and assigned store.
- 2SIM-per-POS vs shared SIM in industrial router decision, aligned with the PCI SAQ that applies to the merchant.
- 3Private APN contracted with direct tunnel to acquirer (Redsys, Worldline, Stripe Terminal Gateway, Adyen).
- 4Static IP per POS or per store decision documented in the PCI compliance plan.
- 54G failover plan on store routers with target switch time < 15 seconds.
- 6SIM tagging by store code and POS asset tag in the management portal.
- 7Usage alarms at 70/80/90% per POS and blocking policy in case of anomalous spike.
- 8Immediate decommission procedure for stolen POS or closed merchant (SIM suspension + merchant ID block).
- 92G/3G fleet migration plan ahead of national shutdown (Telefonica targets 2G around 2030).
- 10Pilot in 5-10 stores for 4 weeks with latency, retries, and uptime metrics before full rollout.
Need a printable version? See the pre-deployment guide.
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