Agreement with Leading Nordic Technology Company to Benefit Merchants Across Europe

In a landmark partnership, Elavon, a global acquirer and payments leader, has joined forces with Copenhagen-based Softpay to introduce a revolutionary SoftPOS payment solution. This collaboration aims to empower merchants across Europe by enabling them to accept card payments using just their smartphones, eliminating the need for additional hardware.

The innovative SoftPOS technology transforms any Android mobile device into a fully functional card-present payments terminal with the simple download of an application. This game-changing solution opens up new possibilities for small and emerging businesses, allowing them to start accepting payments instantly and freeing up valuable time to focus on other aspects of business operations.

Hemlata Narasimhan, President in Europe at Elavon, emphasizes the importance of providing small business owners with efficient payment solutions to support their growth. She states, “Enabling small business owners to take fast, simple payments to meet the needs of their customers is critical to their business growth. Our SoftPOS solution with Softpay does just that.”

The partnership between Elavon and Softpay was born out of a growing demand for innovative payment solutions in the European market. Elavon’s global acquiring capabilities, coupled with Softpay’s cutting-edge technology, position the partnership as a leader in the industry. With offices in major European regions and multi-language customer support, Elavon offers unparalleled scalability and support to its technology partners and resellers.

Martin Lansinger, Head of Sales, Nordics for Elavon, underscores the importance of partnerships in delivering tailored solutions to meet customer needs. He remarks, “Partnerships are fundamental to providing our technology partners and resellers with the solutions they need to meet the needs of their customers. We’re pleased to work with Softpay on this solution, which will give small businesses across Europe the necessary tools to grow.”

Softpay co-founder Ivan Sandqvist expresses pride in partnering with Elavon to deliver the Softpay SoftPOS solution to merchants across Europe. He highlights the simplicity and affordability of the solution, stating, “Our Softpay app with Elavon’s merchant services enables these partners to deliver a revolutionary payment solution, completely off the shelf without the need for expensive traditional payment terminals to their merchants.”

The SoftPOS solution is fully PCI-compliant, providing businesses with peace of mind regarding security and regulatory compliance. Moreover, it allows businesses to prepare for the transition to cashless payments, anticipating pending regulations in certain European markets.

About Elavon: Elavon is a leading global payments company with operations in 10 countries and over 4,300 employees. A subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), Elavon provides businesses with the technology needed to accept payments securely and efficiently across various channels.

About Softpay: Softpay, based in Copenhagen, is a pioneering technology company specializing in innovative payment solutions. With a focus on simplicity and accessibility, Softpay’s ‘Tap on Phone’ solution has garnered widespread acclaim and adoption across Europe.

In conclusion, the partnership between Elavon and Softpay represents a significant milestone in the evolution of payment technology in Europe. By leveraging cutting-edge solutions and strategic collaborations, merchants can now embrace the future of payments with confidence and ease.

london, willis building, reflection-3529954.jpg

This Article is brought to you by

Loopline Media

Catch up with the Author

Post-Brexit: data protection
Card processor sends sensitive data to wrong address
24 August 2022

Worldline SA subsidiary Payone GmbH has been accused of breaching data protection rules after it sent sensitive employee payroll information to the wrong address by accident. The Worldline Group holdS a 60% stake in the Frankfurt based company who have a small UK market presence.

In June 2021, one of Payone GmbH’s ex UK employees (the data subject) received a “potential data breach notification” from the firm advising him that his salary, National Insurance data, nationality (Special Category Data) was amongst various bits of information sent to an incorrect home address.

This included personal information such as the former employees name, age and address.  It also included details such as the date of birth and the amount of annual work bonus he received in his bank account amongst other identifiable data.

Payone GmbH confirmed that this document was sent out in error following an employee making a mistake when re-entering data processed by their third-party payroll provider.  The error arose when the employee was fulfilling an Article 15 GDPR request. The error was spotted by the data subject when he noticed in an email version of the document that the postal address was incorrect. An attempt to notify Payone GmbH of the error went in vain as the document was already irretrievably despatched.

The data subject was alarmed with the incident which exposed him to the possibility of fraudulent activity, amidst reasonable fears his data could end up on the dark web and used by criminals.  Habitually resident in the UK he complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in June 2021. He similarly raised the concern in Germany via The Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI).

The ICO reprimanded Payone GmbH for the error in their final decision letter.
Similarly, the HBDI cited a violation of Article 5(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) relating to integrity and confidentiality.

The ICO stated in their July 2021 findings that Payone GmbH, “should take steps to ensure that all personal data records are accurate and up to date. Holding inaccurate information, such as addresses, does increase the risk of personal data breaches and poses risks to the security of information”.

The HBDI confirmed in their October 2021 findings that Payone GmbH had taken remedial action. They concluded that a monetary fine would not be imposed on Payone GmbH as they had taken technical and organisational steps in response to the data breach. Data subjects could now request their data in an autonomous portal.

The GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, gave the Information Commissioner’s Office greater powers to tackle data breaches. The new ‘UK GDPR’ charts its own course after Brexit whilst seeking to maintain EU GDPR adequacy.  In extreme scenarios, organisations face penalties of up to £20m or 4 per cent of their global worldwide turnover, whichever is more.

In the years prior to GDPR, the ICO fines were capped at £500,000.

The data subject said: “I am just glad I spotted it; they were going to resend the document again to another wrong address. Prior to Brexit the process would have been commenced via the ICO who in turn would liaise with the HBDI on the data subjects’ behalf; but I found myself communicating with both authorities separately which was an additional step but in the end was surprisingly
effective. Unfortunately, Payone GmbH again sent my incorrect address to the
Workers Pension Trust in January 2022, and documents yet again went to the wrong address. In my opinion they have not learned from the first time and my complaint is sitting with the ICO yet again”.

The former employee is pursuing a remedy under Article 82 UK GDPR via
the Court’s of England & Wales.

Extraordinary Experiences

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Our Core Values

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

We use cookies to improve user experience and analyse website traffic. By clicking ‘Accept’, you agree to our website’s cookie use as described in our Privacy Policy.