TSE solution makes cash registers tamper-proof

All other existing POS systems will need to be retrofitted accordingly by the end of 2022. Swissbit has developed a pluggable TSE solution that is extremely easy to install.

The Swissbit TSE is connected to the USB-, SD- or microSD-port which allows easy system integration for both manufactures of traditional POS systems as well as POS software providers for PCs or tablets. For existing POS systems it is also a very cost-effective retrofit-solution. 

For networked POS systems, Swissbit also offers a LAN-TSE option with multiple Swissbit TSE’s that ensures fiscal compliance across a complete POS system without the need for hardware upgrades of each individual cash register.

Time is running out. By the end of 2019, manufacturers of electronic and PC-based POS systems in Germany must install certified TSE solutions into their systems to be legally compliant and ensure their systems are tamper-proof. Equally, by the end of 2022 at the latest, all existing POS systems used by the retail, trade and catering sectors, must be retrofitted in accordance with the requirements imposed by the tax authorities.

With the Swissbit TSE, manufacturers of cash registers now have a solution that can simply be plugged into any POS system via the USB-, SD- or microSD-port, making it very easy to integrate and retrofit. Swissbit is already going through the certification process at the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for three of its TSE product variants and is closely cooperating with the authorities to deliver a certified TSE in accordance with TR-03153 that ensures a legally and fiscally compliant solution in Germany.

Samples of the Swissbit TSEs were already provided to customers at the end of last year and have officially been part of the DFKA (German Association for Cash and Billing System Technology) field test program since April 2019 with successful results. By doing so, Swissbit supports all POS manufacturers who are serious about achieving legal compliance in application and process.

Cash register manufacturers can easily integrate the Swissbit TSE solution into their systems. In addition to the TSE, Swissbit also provides an SDK (Software Development Kit), drivers and support for Windows, Linux, Android and embedded systems. 

In addition, the solution hopes to be future-proof, cost-effective and easily scalable, as it can be used both as a stand-alone and as a LAN solution with multiple parallel TSEs that connect different devices such as PCs and tablets without the need for any further installation at the POS system level.

Hubertus Grobbel, Head of Security Products at Swissbit, said: "We fully understand the complex challenges faced by cash register manufacturers to provide legally compliant cash register systems and we follow the strict certification requirements of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). 

“The Swissbit TSE is 'pluggable' and therefore offers a unique flexible and easy-to-integrate fiscal solution. Development and production are done in-house and can be completely controlled and flexibly adapted to our customers' requirements. During the development, we closely aligned ourselves with the entire cash register ecosystem. Our customers are busy integrating the Swissbit TSE to allow them to offer a legally compliant fiscal solution on time."