Future-Proofing Retail & Hospitality: The Evolution of Flexible POS and Seamless Payments

Beyond the Counter: Enabling Person-Centred Payment Acceptance Anywhere

• Elevate the Customer Experience: Meet the modern consumer's demand for unprecedented flexibility in ordering and payment options.

• Omnichannel Solutions for Growth: Element’s integrated POS/Payments technology empowers your business to deliver a truly fluid, multi-touchpoint experience.

• The Power of Invisible Payments: Achieve the optimal payment outcome; a transaction so smooth and effortless that it goes entirely unnoticed by the customer.

  
  

Decades ago, the POS dictated how people transacted. In a QSR (quick-service restaurant), for example, there would be a row of POS systems where people would line up to place their order and pay for their meal. In a retail outlet, there was no click and collect option; you would select your items from the shelves and then go pay for them at the front registers. Cash was the dominating payment method, and consumers were at the mercy of how the POS was organised.

This couldn’t be further from the reality of today’s retail and hospitality landscape. You can still pay at the POS like you traditionally did, but in 2025, we also have QR ordering from your table, wait staff can put your order straight through to the kitchen using a mobile device, you can order in-app, you can pay at the kiosk or drive-thru. Today, there are countless different points of acceptance, where customers expect merchants to provide them with options for how they

pay.

The Key to Modern Commerce: Versatile, Converged POS and Payments Hardware

Element’s hardware spans all these points of interaction, and the convergence of POS and Payments is a technological revolution that is spearheading person-centred acceptance. From kiosks to tablets with embedded payment functionality, Element is committed to staying at the cutting edge as we support our partners to deliver the experience that customers seek. One of the latest additions to our range is the Element MP11NX, a hybrid POS tablet that can

either be used with its dock as a stationary POS, or detached as a standalone device.

Element MP11NX: The Hybrid Mobile POS for Personalised Clienteling

Element MP11NX All-in-One POS Tablet

In tablet mode, the Element MP11NX is perfectly suited to clienteling for a truly

personalised customer service experience. It gives staff the mobility they need to go around a showroom or retail space with a visitor to the store while looking up items based on their profile and making suggestions relevant to previous purchases or known preferences. It’s the perfect way to combine the advantages of online shopping with the convenience of a bricks-and-mortar store. As a tablet, it can also be used by waiting staff to place a meal order at the table.

The Element MP11NX can be docked to a stationary base, which offers multi-port

connectivity, ideal for counter service at a busy hospitality or retail venue. But one of its greatest advantages is its ability to take payments right from the device. PaySuite® FLEX-enabled, it features Android NFC (near-field communication) so customers can tap and pay on the device itself, with no need for additional payment hardware.

Best-case self-service

Element PK156 - Android Self-Service Kiosk with Integrated Tap-On-Device payments

The Element PK156 is exactly what customers want to see in a self-service kiosk. It’s an all-in-one solution with scanning and printing built in, and it also accepts NFC payments. It runs Android OS for fast, smooth, effortless operation in a self-service setting, and can be mounted on a wall or countertop, or simply used freestanding.

Self-service kiosks reduce the cost of overhead for a business and make customers feel more independent and in control. With integrated POS/Payments that include PaySuite® FLEX, the Element PK156 offers tap-to-pay versatility right from the kiosk itself. Its compact footprint and sleek, ultra-modern design make it a pleasure for customers to interact with, and its aesthetics are well-matched to any sophisticated interior. From retail to hospitality to a service environment such as a gym, the Element PK156 is a driving force for a superior customer experience.

The Next Generation of Countertop POS: Integrated Payment Terminals

The revolutionary ability to combine POS and Payments on a single device extends to standalone POS systems in the Element range as well. One such POS is the Element Orion series, designed to be extremely efficient for staff to use, but also to epitomise customer convenience.

Available in three touchscreen size options 11.6”, 15.6” and 21.5” the Element Orion

terminal can be used as a POS system, a touch monitor, or adapted for use as a kiosk or digital display. It supports a second, customer-facing display which can be bracket-mounted to the main unit or positioned on its own stand. Plus the 11.6” variant features an optional NFC reader embedded in the device itself.

The Element Orion offers a selection of two processor platforms: either MediaTek G700 or Intel® Alder Lake N97. It supports Android OS for lightning-fast operation and interchangeable modular boxes for either touch PC or display monitor functionality. This versatile system is another example of how Element caters to customers who wish to have more options when it comes to how they order and pay.

Seamless Customer Payment Journey

With all these devices, the objective is to ensure a flowing, effortless experience throughout the ordering, purchase and payment process. When something doesn’t go to plan, everyone notices, so what we are aiming for is to ensure the technology does its work beneath the level of conscious awareness.

When a customer comes into your store or hospitality venue, they are making an investment in your brand. They hope to be rewarded in some way for the ‘golden ticket’ of their attention span that they’ve given you. Engaging and inspiring them with products and services is obviously the most important way you can provide them with this reward, but don’t underestimate the relevance of how smoothly the last mile of the experience goes for them. In the best case, we

aim for customers to come away from making a payment without noticing all the magic that takes place in the background to ensure that seamless journey.

Contact Element today to learn more about how our technology can support a truly 21st-century transaction for your customers, and give them a reason to return for more of the person-centred care that you offer.