GP tom incl. Girocard – Pilot Operation

a) What does the term “pilot operation” mean?

Everybody is familiar with the standard physical payment terminals on the market at the Point of Sale (POS) that have been in reliable use for many years. The option of accepting card payments on a mobile device has recently been added. These so-called software POS, in addition to certification by Visa and MasterCard, also require corresponding approval for the Girocard payment method, which is issued by the German Banking Industry.

It goes without saying that our “GP tom” product has all the necessary certifications!

The German Banking Industry has decided to initially issue a pilot approval for the Girocard payment method at the software POS rather than a standard approval. On the basis of this pilot approval, the term “pilot operation” is used for virtual payment terminals with Girocard functionality of all providers on the German market. This also applies to our “GP tom” product.

The term “pilot operation” should therefore not be confused with operation during a technical test phase, but merely refers to the form of approval by the German Banking Industry. This means that transaction processing already functions 100% as in regular operation.

b) Is there a time limit for the pilot phase?

We assume that the German banking industry will transfer the pilot operation for Girocard payments at the software POS to a regular operation within 2024 and are in close contact with the German banking industry to this end.

The transition from pilot operation to regular operation will take place in the background and completely unnoticed by the merchant; no technical or administrative involvement on the part of the merchant will be required. We guarantee you a smooth transition!

c) What are the effects of the pilot operation for me as a merchant?

From a merchant's point of view, there are no practical differences between pilot operation and regular operation. The range of functions, functionality and processes for payment with Girocard via our GP tom solution are absolutely identical in pilot operation and regular operation.