Secure Remote Control for Point-of-Sale POS

Point of Sale (POS) – the physical location where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point at which a customer makes payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or services. At the POS the retailer calculates the sum owed by the customer and provides options for the customer to pay, and normally a receipt for the transaction is issued. POS is one of the applications most often used by the everyday consumer. Anytime you pay with a credit card or debit card there is a modem-system POS behind it transferring your data and swiftly responding with approval or rejection of your card.

The modern point of sale is often referred to as the ‘point of service’ because it is not just a point of sale but also a point of return or customer order. Additionally it includes advanced features to cater to different functionality, such as inventory management, CRM, financials, warehousing, etc., all built into the POS software.

Point of Sale terminals can be found everywhere. The most common locations include any retail stores such as clothing stores, department stores, supermarkets, grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels to name a few. ATM machines are another major application that need real time feedback and use POS systems.

In today’s advanced technology that allows for access and availability from anywhere and at any time, this translates to multiple financial transaction accruing at every given moment.

The smart phone and other smart devices are changing the way business owners interact with the point-of-sale system, and the Remote Control app is one of the most popular POS application that will improve operational productivity. 

This world of everything available at our fingertips brings with the benefits new risks.  Remote POS systems are perceived to be easy targets, and hackers are constantly looking for new ways to steal payment card data through unauthorized access to point-of-sale systems. According to a recent Visa Security Alert: “Insecure remote access continues to be the most frequent attack method used by intruders to gain access to a merchant’s POS environment”.

There is a global need for remote support solutions for POS terminals or kiosks allowing remote control and access to repair any breach, while at the same time ensuring that sensitive data is protected within the scope of your system’s secure firewall.

 

So what do you need remote control for?

First, for you – so you can control the information and manage your stores from wherever you are.  For your venders, many stores open the inventory to venders to allow for low inventory levels.

In addition, for support – for most stores, if the POS is down they are losing money.  Therefore, POS service is done on a very short time frame.  Remote access translates to having experts who can access your system and fix it in a quick and efficient manner.

Another point to keep in mind, a technician accessing a POS terminal for repairs may also have access to some or all of the user’s data, this conflict with many regulations governing security requirements, such as PCI for credit card transactions, or other regulations governing user privacy, such as HIPAA.  The compliance of the entire organization can be put at risk by a failure to audit remote access.

OTECH’S POWER POS remote control provides technician permissions through individual or group policies integrated with your organizations database. Remote control sessions can be recorded in video format so that you can audit every click and keystroke of every session – thus ensuring the privacy of your users and the integrity of system data.

Secure Remote Access to Point of Sale:  an important feature of a remote control system allows you to provide secure, auditable, controlled remote access to whomever you choose: venders, support or management, while keeping your system secure.

 

To learn more of OTECH POWERPOS and our secure solution to remote access give us a call today and we would be glad to assist in your search – 786-732-7888 or contact us and we will get back to you shortly.

Conclusion

Supporting interactive kiosks and point of sale terminals  presents unique challenges for access, security and  software licensing. The need for real-time access must be considered, as well as  the requirements for regulatory compliance and data security. This balance must be struck within a scalable model that does not require a costly and inflexible software infrastructure.