poket.cr

What It Is

Poket is a mobile acquiring app whose main selling point is turning an NFC-enabled smartphone into a “Datáfono” bank card payment terminal. Merchants do not need any additional POS hardware: they simply download the Android or iOS app, complete ID verification, and can then accept contactless bank card or mobile device payments directly on their phone.

Core Features and Payment Methods

Based on the main copy, Poket supports Visa, Mastercard, and other NFC-enabled cards. For in-person payments, customers only need to tap their card near the back of the phone to complete the transaction. In addition to Tap to Phone, it also offers payment links and QR code payments, covering use cases such as physical stores, markets, mobile stalls, and social media sales. The app also highlights sales record keeping, helping small merchants reduce cash handling and manual bookkeeping.

Pricing and Settlement

Its pricing information is relatively clear: 1.95% commission for local cards, 2.5% for international cards, plus U$0.35 per transaction. There are no maintenance fees, account opening fees, or membership/affiliation fees. An example on the page shows that receiving U$10 results in U$8.74 being credited, indicating that the fixed fee has a significant impact on small-value transactions. For settlement, the copy says transaction funds are deposited directly into the linked bank account and arrive “instantly and securely,” but it does not disclose the specific T+ settlement cycle or bank processing rules.

Compliance, Risk Control, and Integration

Poket requires merchants to provide identity documents for profile verification, which is basic KYC. The page also emphasizes secure payment collection, but it does not disclose key compliance and risk-control details such as acquiring licenses, regulators, fund custody, anti-fraud measures, chargeback management, or transaction limits. On the API and integration side, the copy does not mention an SDK, open API, or e-commerce platform plugins, so it appears to be a lightweight, app-centered acquiring tool.

Pros, Cons, and Who It’s For

Its strengths are a low barrier to entry, no hardware requirement, transparent fees, and support for offline NFC, QR code payments, and remote payment links. Its weaknesses are the lack of information on regulatory qualifications, supported regions, and technical integrations, while the U$0.35 per-transaction fee raises the cost of small payments. Poket is better suited to small shops, stall owners, mobile vendors, and small online sellers than to merchants that need complex APIs, cross-border expansion, or enterprise-grade risk controls.

Access from China and Alternatives

The copy does not provide information about access from mainland China, so real-world availability is unknown. Since its market context is clearly oriented toward local .cr merchants, Chinese businesses looking for similar capabilities may want to compare Square, SumUp, Zettle, Mercado Pago, Stripe Terminal, or acquiring solutions from local banks.