HS-Soft AG, the market leader for bakery till systems in the DACH region, has selected Munich-based FinTech Rubean AG as its SoftPOS partner to replace traditional card readers and integrate payment acceptance directly into modern till systems. The announcement, reported via NEWMEDIAWIRE, marks a significant step in the digitalization of small-format retail, where counter space and operational simplicity are critical.
Under the partnership, Rubean SoftPOS enables payment terminals to become an app on the till itself, supporting local card systems such as girocard alongside Mastercard and Visa. For HS-Soft, which has served over 700 bakery, patisserie, and confectionery businesses with more than 4,000 till stations across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland over the past 39 years, the move addresses a long-standing pain point: the proliferation of separate devices at the counter.
“At many bakery counters today, there are two devices side by side: the till and the card terminal, each with its own cable, its own contract and its own maintenance,” said Heiner Schriever, founder and CEO of HS-Soft. “With Rubean, the terminal becomes an app on the till. This means: one less device, lower costs, and every new till can accept cards straight away, without the need to have a separate terminal delivered and set up first.” Schriever added that customers simply hold their card or mobile phone up to the till screen, which also displays their shopping, enabling quick service even during morning rush periods.
The implications extend beyond convenience. By eliminating dedicated card terminals, HS-Soft and Rubean are reducing hardware costs, simplifying maintenance, and accelerating deployment for bakeries that often operate on thin margins and face high staff turnover. The integration also allows new till stations to accept card payments immediately upon installation, removing a common bottleneck in store openings and upgrades.
For Rubean, the partnership represents a strategic expansion into the bakery segment, a niche but high-frequency retail environment where speed and reliability are paramount. “Together with HS-Soft, we’re creating a new checkout experience for bakeries and their customers,” said Stephan Kück, co-CEO of Rubean. The company’s SoftPOS platform is already in daily use in large-scale deployments and is now entering a phase of scaling, according to the release. Rubean’s technology is designed to meet regulatory and security requirements while enabling banks, acquirers, and integrators to offer card acceptance on mobile devices. More information is available at www.rubean.com.
The deal underscores a broader trend in the payments industry: the shift from hardware-centric terminals to software-based acceptance on general-purpose devices. For small merchants such as bakeries, this can lower barriers to accepting digital payments and improve customer throughput. As HS-Soft integrates Rubean’s SoftPOS into its till systems, the partnership could serve as a model for other specialized retail software providers seeking to embed payments without adding complexity at the counter. The original release is available on www.newmediawire.com.
