Blink Payment simplifies in-store payments with new API

By Vriti Gothi

UK-based PayTech firm Blink Payment has launched a Card Present API aimed at simplifying how integrated software vendors (ISVs) and merchants embed in-person payment capabilities into their platforms.

The new API allows ISVs to integrate card-present payments and real-time transaction reporting directly into their systems, without having to build or manage their own in-person payment infrastructure. Blink said the offering is designed to address long-standing challenges around terminal integration, compliance, connectivity and ongoing maintenance, which have traditionally made in-person payments costly and time-consuming for software providers.

The API is cloud-based and enables Blink to manage terminal configuration, connectivity and support once an ISV completes the integration. This approach reflects a broader industry shift towards modular, API-driven payment services, as ISVs and platforms seek to offer more unified commerce experiences without expanding operational complexity.

“In-person payments have long been the missing piece of a truly unified commerce experience,” said Ben Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Blink Payment. “ISVs face huge challenges in developing, integrating and managing bespoke in-person capabilities. Quite simply, Blink’s Card Present API removes these pain points.”

For merchants, the launch targets a key operational issue: delayed visibility of in-store transactions. Blink noted that card-present payments typically take one to three business days to appear in reporting systems, complicating reconciliation and cash flow management. By enabling real-time reporting, the API is intended to support faster decision-making and reduce manual reconciliation efforts.

The API also supports omnichannel reporting, with online and in-person payments displayed side by side within both the ISV’s platform and Blink’s own dashboard, eliminating the need for separate reconciliation processes.

Initially, Blink’s Card Present API will operate on Verifone’s Android-based T650p and P630 terminals. Blink said terminals will be fully configured and connected as part of its service, removing the need for merchants to engage directly with Verifone for setup.

The launch underscores growing demand across the FinTech sector for embedded, real-time payment capabilities that bridge online and offline channels, particularly as ISVs play an increasingly central role in merchant payment stacks.