Tap to Pay lets you accept contactless payments on a compatible device without a separate EFTPOS terminal, and Tyro offers two ways to integrate it. With the Tap to Pay app, your POS pairs with a separate, Tyro-managed app that handles the payment experience. With the Tap to Pay SDK, you embed Tyro's payment technology directly into your own POS app instead. Both models use the same underlying payment processing, but they differ in supported platforms, integration effort, refund support and PCI MPoC compliance obligations. The table below compares the two side by side; the sections that follow explain each model in more detail and help you decide which one fits your POS.
| Tap to Pay app | Tap to Pay SDK | |
|---|---|---|
| Integration model | POS pairs to the Tyro Tap to Pay app, with app switching during the payment flow | SDK embedded in the POS app |
| Supported POS types | Web POS + Android POS | Android POS + iOS POS |
| POS integration effort | Lower | Higher |
| MPoC certification for POS | Not required | Required — the POS partner must complete PCI MPoC compliance for their app |
| SDK integration and maintenance | Managed within the Tyro app | SDK updates roughly every 6 months |
| Refunds | Not supported in the initial app release (planned for early 2027) | Supported |
| Device setup | Handled in the Tyro Tap to Pay app — the app must be installed on the device and paired to the POS | Controlled by the POS app — the POS builds authentication and reader creation into their app |
| Minimum requirement | Android 12+ | Android 12+, plus iPhone for iOS — see Device requirements |
| Best suited to | Partners wanting a simpler integration and reduced compliance burden | Partners requiring a fully embedded payment experience |
The Tyro Tap to Pay app is a Tyro-managed Android payment application that works alongside your Android POS apps and POS running in a web browser (WebPOS) to accept contactless payments on the same device as your POS.
Instead of embedding Tyro's payment technology directly into your POS application, your POS pairs with the Tyro Tap to Pay app. Your POS continues to manage the sale, while the Tyro Tap to Pay app securely manages the payment experience — presenting the payment screen, accepting the customer's tap and processing the transaction through Tyro.
When a merchant takes a payment, the POS sends the payment request to the Tyro Tap to Pay app. The Tap to Pay app opens automatically, guides the customer through the payment, and then returns the merchant to the POS once processing is complete. The transaction result is provided back to the POS so the sale can be completed.
This separation means Tyro manages the payment application and its PCI MPoC certification, while you focus on integrating the payment request, pairing and transaction-result flow.
For merchants, the experience remains simple: their POS and payment acceptance can run on the same compatible Android device, without requiring a separate EFTPOS terminal.
Tap to Pay app: POS → Tyro Tap to Pay app → payment → result → POS. Your POS initiates a transaction and transfers control to the Tyro Tap to Pay app, which presents and manages the payment experience. Once processing is complete, your POS receives the transaction outcome and the Tap to Pay app hands back to your POS to present the completed result.
Tap to Pay SDK: POS containing the Tyro SDK → payment within POS → result within POS. Tyro's payment capabilities are incorporated into your POS application through the SDK, so the payment experience stays within your POS application.
Choose the Tap to Pay app if you:
- integrate with a Web POS;
- want the simplest Tap to Pay integration;
- don't require the entire payment experience to be embedded within your POS application;
- want to avoid the MPoC certification obligations that come with embedding payment acceptance in your POS.
Consider the Tap to Pay SDK if you:
- operate an iOS POS application (a POS with an Android app can do either implementation);
- need a single-app experience;
- require greater control of the payment experience;
- are prepared to integrate and maintain the Tyro SDK; and
- are prepared to complete the applicable MPoC certification process.
Already building against the SDK and wondering whether to switch? See MPoC PCI upgrade.