As payment use grows, fraud and device tampering remain a threat to merchants who rely on card transactions. Cases of terminal hijacking, card skimming, and device switching continue to affect revenue and trust. Nearpays says it is addressing this risk by adding AI-driven “Smart Firewalls” to its Soft POS system, a move the firm claims can limit common fraud patterns faced by businesses.
Traditional hardware POS devices can be replaced or altered by criminals or by staff acting with intent. When this happens, payments may be redirected to outside accounts without the knowledge of the business owner. Nearpays shifts the payment process from a hardware terminal to software on a smartphone, which the firm says removes the risk linked to a physical swap of devices.
The company explains that the core of the system is an AI layer that observes patterns in every transaction. The layer reviews behaviour over time and reacts when it detects activity that does not match past records. If a merchant known for low-value sales starts to process a series of high-value payments from a new location, the “Smart Firewalls” can request instant verification or place a hold on the account.
Nearpays also uses device fingerprinting to bind the Soft POS to the identity of a merchant’s phone. The firm says this step prevents cloning or movement of the terminal to another device without biometric checks. This measure aims to end the “terminal switching” scam that has affected many small retailers.
The system relies on encryption and tokenisation at the point of contact. Card data is converted into tokens within the phone’s Secure Enclave, which the firm says keeps sensitive data away from both the device memory and the merchant. This process is designed to reduce the chance of data exposure during or after a transaction.
For multi-site businesses, Nearpays offers a security dashboard that shows where and when each payment tap takes place. Owners can monitor route changes by delivery staff or spot attempts to process payments outside set hours. When such events occur, the AI flags the activity so that managers can respond before losses occur.
“Security shouldn’t be a reactive measure; it must be predictive,” said Victor Daniyan, chief executive of Nearpays. He noted that some SMEs have lost weekly revenue after POS tampering. He added that the AI Soft POS removes “human error” and “physical risk” from the payment flow and turns a phone into what he described as a vault.
In many markets, fear of fraud still slows cashless adoption. By deploying an AI system that learns from new fraud methods, Nearpays says it aims to build the “Trust Infrastructure” needed for more users to join the digital economy. Merchants, the firm says, can then process payments with confidence that revenue is protected by controls similar to those used by banks and other financial institutions.
