TNS Launched Platform for Android Payment Terminals
The new system allows operators to run custom applications on unattended terminals while offloading payment compliance.
Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Software
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TNS has released a Bring Your Own App platform designed to enable operators to deploy customer-facing applications directly onto Android unattended payment terminals. The service is currently available for unattended, retail, and fuel payment hardware.
Why it matters
The platform allows operators to pursue custom customer experience features without the operational burden of managing complex PCI compliance and payment security. It enables terminal owners to switch acquirers without requiring updates to their physical hardware.
Operator-developed Android applications interface with the TNS payment stack through a dedicated payments API. TNS handles all Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) certifications and infrastructure support.
The players
TNS
A global provider of payment processing, network infrastructure, and security services for retail, fuel, and financial institutions.
The details
The system utilizes a sandboxed architecture where custom applications call the TNS payment application to facilitate transactions. For security, every third-party operator application must undergo a formal signature and approval process by TNS before it is permitted to execute on the terminal hardware. This separation of concerns allows the underlying payment security and PCI compliance, or Payment Card Industry standards, to remain managed by TNS regardless of the apps running on top.
Timeline
September 29, 2026: The platform was officially released.
The Tech Race
This release follows the broader industry shift away from proprietary, locked-down payment hardware toward open, Android-based unattended payment terminals. TNS is competing to provide the secure middleware layer required to manage these versatile, connected devices.
Operators in retail and fuel sectors can now deploy new customer-facing digital features to payment kiosks without replacing their underlying terminal hardware. This capability is available immediately for those using supported Android payment devices.
The takeaway
The platform centralizes compliance management, effectively decoupling terminal software innovation from the rigid security requirements of financial transactions. Watch for the emergence of new third-party applications in fuel and retail kiosks that leverage this API to update user interfaces remotely.
Further reading
For more on how payment stacks are evolving, visit our Software section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Finextra Research.
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