Multi-use near field communication front end on a point of sale system

A method for operating a point of sale system comprising:

• instantiating, using an applications microprocessor, an operating system for the point of sale system and a master NFC service;
• switching the point of sale system between an unsecure mode and a secure mode using the master NFC service;
• filtering a set of packets received from the applications microprocessor, on a discrete microcontroller and in response to the master NFC service switching the point of sale system to the unsecure mode, using a filter and a whitelist for the filter;
• generating a near field communication signal based on the set of packets using a near field communication front end coupled between the discrete microcontroller and an antenna;
• and
• transmitting the near field communication signal using the antenna.

A point of sale system comprising:

• an applications microprocessor programmed to:
• (i) instantiate an operating system for the point of sale system and (ii) generate a set of data packets;
• a discrete microcontroller communicatively coupled with the applications microprocessor and programmed to:
• (i) selectively operate in an unsecure mode and a secure mode;
• and (ii) filter, when operating in the unsecure mode, the set of data packets received from the applications microprocessor using a filter and a whitelist for the filter;
• and
• a near field communication front end communicatively coupled to the discrete microcontroller and an antenna, for transmitting a near field communication signal based on information from the set of data packets via the antenna.