If you’ve spent any time in Spain recently, you’ve probably noticed a blue logo on the card machines in various shops and restaurants that reads Ingenico. At first, I thought it was the name of a bank. But then I realized that customers of BBVA, Santander, and CaixaBank all seem to use machines from this brand. Out of curiosity, I did a little research online and found the story behind it quite interesting, so I’m sharing it with you.
Actually, Ingenico isn’t a bank at all. It’s a French company, now part of the Worldline group, and a global leader in the payment terminal industry. They specialize in manufacturing the very POS (Point of Sale) machines we use for our daily card payments. So, the Ingenico logo you see is simply the brand of the hardware, not the bank providing the payment service. It’s similar to how you might use a phone made by different brands, but your service provider is someone like Movistar or Vodafone.
So, what’s the relationship between Ingenico and Spanish banks? In short, it’s a partnership. Major Spanish banks like BBVA, Santander, CaixaBank, and Sabadell purchase these POS terminals from Ingenico. The banks then configure the devices with their own systems and provide them to their contracted merchants. This means that while a merchant’s POS service is provided by their bank, the physical device they receive is very likely manufactured by Ingenico, a key piece of equipment for businesses just as opening an ING bank account is a key step. This explains why you see the same brand of machine at merchants who partner with different banks.
Ingenico POS Machine Models and Features
While as consumers, perhaps customers of ING Bank, we might not pay much attention to this, merchants are quite particular about the models. Different models have different functions and are suited for various scenarios. I’ve put together a simple list of some common series and their features. You can keep an eye out next time you pay and see which model, perhaps from a merchant that banks with ING in Spain, is being used:
| Series | Key Features | Common Scenarios |
|---|
| Move Series | Wireless, portable, long battery life | Restaurants, markets, exhibitions |
| Desk Series | Wired, fixed at the checkout counter | Supermarkets, large retail store checkouts |
| AXIUM Series | Android-based, like a smartphone | New retail, merchants needing third-party apps |
For us, the average users, as long as we can tap or swipe our cards successfully and it supports Contactless payments, we’re happy. Still, it’s interesting to learn about this unsung hero working behind the scenes. When you think about it, Ingenico is truly ubiquitous in our daily lives. Have you ever paid attention to these POS machines? Or have you encountered any funny stories or issues while paying by card? Feel free to share and discuss in the comments below!
