South America POS Terminal - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

According to Mordor Intelligence, the South America POS terminal market size is estimated at 10.70 billion units in 2025, and is expected to reach 16.30 billion units by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.20% during the forecast period (2025-2030).

This report is Segmented by Mode of Payment Acceptance (Contact-Based, and Contactless), POS Type (Fixed Point-Of-Sale Systems, and Mobile/Portable Point-Of-Sale Systems), End-User Industry (Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, Transportation and Logistics, and More). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (Units).

South America POS Terminal Market Trends and Insights

Lower total cost of ownership than cash handling

Modern terminals reduce cash-management losses, automate settlement, and integrate inventory functions. Castles Technology's Android units tripled merchant productivity in pilot programs, resulting in over 4 million fintech-deployed terminals in Mexico, compared to 1.4 million bank devices. Hardware vendors now bundle analytics dashboards and working-capital loans that convert one-time sales into subscription revenue, reinforcing adoption momentum among micro-merchants.

Contactless and mobile payment surge post-pandemic

COVID-19 shifted consumer behavior toward tap-and-go and QR code payments. NFC transactions now account for more than 50% of face-to-face card volumes in Brazil, and PIX Contactless has been live since February 2025, combining instant settlement with touch-free convenience, thereby increasing merchant demand for dual-interface devices. Argentina's interoperable QR framework logged a 278% year-over-year growth in April 2024, confirming a sustained preference for contactless payment acceptance.

Cybersecurity and PCI-DSS compliance costs

PCI-DSS v4.0.1 expands authentication, key management, and monitoring mandates, driving recurring audit expenses that small merchants struggle to afford. Terminal manufacturers must secure firmware updates and maintain device attestation, which raises bill-of-materials costs and complicates rollouts in fragmented regulatory environments.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

1. Mandatory digitization of micro-merchant payments
2. Expansion of fintech acquirers and payment aggregators
3. High informality and rural cash preference

For complete list of drivers and restraints, kindly check the Table Of Contents.

Segment Analysis

Contact-based EMV transactions accounted for 57.83% South America POS Terminal market share in 2024, reflecting entrenched chip-card infrastructure. Yet contactless volumes grow at a 7.23% CAGR as NFC cards and digital wallets proliferate. Argentina's unified QR scheme handled 35.7 million transactions in April 2024, while Brazil's PIX Contactless is set to accelerate NFC adoption further. Merchants increasingly demand dual-interface readers to future-proof investments and capture both traditional card and instant-payment traffic. Device vendors bundle QR scanners and large touchscreens, allowing software-switchable acceptance modes without additional hardware swaps.

Second-order effects include acquirers reshaping fee models as contactless A2A rails undercut interchange economics. Some Brazilian merchants already route low-ticket items to PIX to avoid MDR fees, while high-value purchases stay on credit card installments. Terminal providers respond with dynamic routing engines at the device level, maximizing savings for merchants and cementing hardware relevance in an omnipayment world.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Mode of Payment Acceptance
  • Contact-based
  • Contactless
• By POS Type
  • Fixed Point-of-Sale Systems
  • Mobile / Portable Point-of-Sale Systems
• By End-User Industry
  • Retail
  • Hospitality
  • Healthcare
  • Transportation and Logistics
  • Other End-User Industries
• By Country
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Peru
  • Rest of South America

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

1. Ingenico S.A.
2. VeriFone , Inc.
3. PAX Technology Limited
4. New POS Technology Limited
5. Newland Payment Technology Co., Ltd.
6. Castles Technology Co., Ltd.
7. Shenzhen Xinguodu Technology Co., Ltd.
8. SZZT Electronics Co., Ltd.
9. BBPOS Limited
10. Bitel Co., Ltd.
11. Centerm Information Co., Ltd.
12. NCR Corporation
13. Toshiba Tec Corporation
14. Zebra Technologies Corporation
15. Honeywell International Inc.
16. Datalogic S.p.A.
17. Diebold Nixdorf Incorporated
18. Sunmi Technology Co., Ltd.
19. Fujian Landi Commercial Equipment Co., Ltd.
20. AURES Technologies S.A.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support