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In-Store Multi-Function Money Services Solutions at NRF Big Show 2014, KIOSK Information Systems
KIOSK Information Systems (KIOSK) will be exhibiting their newest Multifunction Money Services platform at the 2014 NRF Big Show, Booth #4101. The solution provides a holistic approach to self-service with customizable full-feature hardware, software, remote management, and services. It readily integrates with existing service infrastructures / ATM platforms to incorporate complementary, high-demand services including:
KIOSK's In-Store Multifunction Money Services Solution (Photo: Business Wire)
KIOSK CEO Tom Weaver affirms that "With the un-banked and under-banked consumer market at nearly $90B, the demand for expanded kiosk Money Services delivery is beyond evident. In addition to deep company investments in new Money Services solution features, we recently added a new KIOSK Financial Solutions Director, Barrett Jenkins, to provide an exceptional caliber of niche self-service expertise to this vertical market. We could not have asked for a sharper, more experienced executive resource to guide new KIOSK client success in custom multifunction deployments."
Barrett adds, "The KIOSK Money Services solution addresses a long-term gap in the market. It layers advances in technology to provide truly applicable and convenient customer feature sets - which is ultimately the cornerstone of a solid ROI." The retail-targeted solution is both XFS compatible and PCI compliant. These key foundations in combination with the highly customizable nature of component delivery features substantially shrinks solution development costs and eliminates the most common market entry hurdles.
The NRF solution software was created by Reevex, a best-in-class self-service financial application provider. Both KIOSK and Reevex will be demonstrating the flexible platform features key to driving secure money service transactions.
The NRF show model is configured for stand-alone in-store services, but can be customized for 24 hour unassisted or through-wall deployment needs. It plugs into the existing operations ecosystem for cash management and maintenance, and helps to liberate the traditional customer service desk from operationally challenging tasks.
KIOSK's full NRF Big Show portfolio of retail self-service solutions includes financial services, lockers for site-to-store delivery and phone charging, endless aisle, loyalty, and automated retail delivery systems. Booth #4101.
About KIOSK Information Systems:
As the undisputed market leader in self-service solutions, KIOSK provides proven expertise in design engineering; application development, integration, manufacturing, and field support for even the most sophisticated self-service platforms. An exceptionally broad portfolio of standard and custom KIOSK designs are deployed among Top 100 Retailers and Fortune 500 clients in virtually all self-service vertical markets. ISO 9001:2008 certified processes ensure every solution provides superior field reliability, kioskindustry.org, 800.509.5471.
About Reevex:
Reevex is a leading provider of secure transactional self-service applications for the financial, retail, and hospitality industries. Reevex's Dynamix Software Platform securely processes millions of transactions. www.reevex.com, 704.999.1611.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140109006393/en/
The machines sell everything from the $379 Kindle Fire HDX to a $20 Kindle PowerFast adapter, in addition to Kindle e-readers and covers. Powered by Zoom Systems
]]> LAS VEGAS -- Amazon, the company that defined the world of online commerce, is venturing further into the world of physical retail -- experimenting with standalone, automated "Kindle Kiosk" vending machines in selected airports and shopping malls.The machines sell everything from the $379 Kindle Fire HDX to a $20 Kindle PowerFast adapter, in addition to Kindle e-readers and covers.
Amazon's stealthy experiment started rolling out in November, according to an Amazon customer service representative. We spotted one last night at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas -- doing a double-take when we walked by. One airport worker said it was installed within the past day, which means it's in place just in time for people traveling through the airport on the way home from CES.
We used it to purchase a Kindle power adapter. Ours was the machine's second transaction, according to the numbering on our receipt.
The kiosk that we encountered appears to be identical to the ones that were included in temporary Amazon "pop-up stores" at a few U.S. shopping malls during the holidays, as reported by the Wall Street Journal in November. However, the company told the Digital Reader blog at the time that the stores weren't really stores, but part of a Kindle's 'Read-It-To-Believe-It' marketing campaign designed to promote the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader.
An Amazon spokesperson tells us via email that the company has made the kiosks available at a variety of locations, including events, malls and airports. "We're very happy with the customer response so far, and are excited to give customers (like you!) another easy way to purchase accessories and also Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets," the spokesperson said.
The experiment signals the company's desire to expand beyond online sales and third-party retail stores, directly selling its hardware and accessories in physical locations. It's also notable in the context of past predictions that Amazon might want to buy Coinstar and Redbox parent Outerwall, the automated vending machine company based in Bellevue. That was pure speculation, but such a move would significantly increase Amazon's physical footprint.
[Related: Amazon sets up booth in front of college bookstore to tout Amazon Student program]
Tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft have ventured into physical retail with splashy stores, but it's no surprise that Amazon -- with its low margins and love for automation -- would instead try a vending machine. It's not clear how many people will feel comfortable purchasing something as expensive as a $379 tablet from a vending machine. But at $69, the standard Kindle e-reader could be an impulse buy for someone preparing for a long flight.
Amazon's kiosk is powered by Zoom Systems, which makes similar automated retail machines for Best Buy and other big brands.
Our experience with the Kindle Kiosk at the Las Vegas airport wasn't entirely smooth. At different times during the process of buying the Kindle power adapter, interface was unresponsive for 10 seconds or more. We were able to work through the sluggishness, and after completing the purchase with our credit card, the adapter slid neatly into the bin at the bottom of the machine. The on-screen dialog explained how the item could be returned using the company's online system.
However, the kiosk didn't allow us to link the purchase to an existing Amazon account, which would seem to be an obvious feature for Amazon to add in the future.
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PulseWallet is the next generation of Point-of-Sale transactions. Their PalmSecure-enabled terminals link the consumer's palm to that consumer's digital wallet for the safest, most efficient check-out experience yet. The consumer's PulseWallet account electronically tracks and stores receipts and coupons, and can only be accessed by the consumer.In addition, merchants, always looking for ways to link their corporate brand to green marketing initiatives, can go paperless at check out.
"We're very excited to be launching PulseWallet at an event like CES. For the first time the public will see how smoothly and efficiently the complete solution, integrated with Fujitsu's PalmSecure technology, works for merchants and consumers alike," according to Aimann Rasheed, co-founder and CEO, PulseWallet. "We encourage all attendees to visit our booth to see and experience the future of fast, accurate and flexible POS, today."
The Fujitsu PalmSecure biometric palm vein sensors use a near-infrared light to capture a user's palm vein pattern, generating a unique biometric template that is matched against the encrypted palm vein patterns of pre-registered users. Unlike other readers, the PalmSecure sensor does not come into contact with the skin, so it is hygienic, non-intrusive and unrestricted by external factors such as skin types and conditions.Registration at any PulseWallet terminal takes less than one minute and authentication takes less than one second.
"We are delighted to be a part of the public launch of the PulseWallet solution. We're confident that once the show attendees see the demonstration, they'll truly begin to understand how they can substantially improve and secure the POS experience," said Randy Fox, vice president, currency handling and identity product solutions, Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. "We are also very proud to be associated with PulseWallet, a company that is at the very front of cutting-edge and innovative technology."
Fujitsu's family of biometric solutions, the PalmSecure® sensor,PalmSecure for SSO (single sign-on) system and the PalmEntry Physical Access Control system all utilize the award-winning technology. The palm vein device can only recognize the pattern if the blood is actively flowing within the individual's veins, so forgery is virtually impossible. This advanced, vascular pattern recognition technology not only provides highly reliable authentication with low false accept and reject rates, but also allows for fast and easy enrollment.
About PulseWallet
PulseWallet , LLC, founded in 2011, is a Wayne, New Jersey-based company that represents the next generation of payments: An innovative, biometric payment solutions company specializing in providing the safest, fastest and most payment options at POS for both merchants and consumers. PulseWallet, a strong proponent of electronic commerce, supports the green initiative by allowing consumers to leave their cards at home and going paperless at the POS.
Published in CSP Daily News
MANTUA TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Wawa Inc.'s recently announced plan to expand availability of automated lottery kiosks in New Jersey has Garden State mom-and-pop convenience retailers worried, reported NJ.com.
In southern New Jersey, the rollout has begun in Mantua Township. The Wawa, Pa.-based chain already has automated machines in other states--212 in Pennsylvania and 67 in Virginia, according to the report.
The chain plans on installing the machines in each of its 210 locations in New Jersey by the end of first-quarter 2014, Wawa spokesperson Christine McCarthy told the news website.
Vasant Patel, owner of Woodbury Variety & Deli is concerned not only about lost lottery sales, but also about the residual effect on his business.
"If somebody's stopping by to just get lottery tickets, he or she might change their mind and decide to get something else," he told the news outlet. "If the customers are going [to Wawa] to stop for food or gas, now they're going to go in and buy lottery tickets."
He added, "I might have to change my game plan on how I operate my business. Wawa, compared to me, is a big elephant."
Raj Patel, manager at the Woodstown News Agency, said that he is concerned that Wawa's continuing growth and expanded mix of products and services is going to drive stores like his out of business.
He said if he starts seeing a decline in lottery sales, he may start offering extra deals, such as having a drawing for a free sub among those who bought tickets at his store but didn't win.
Click here to read the full NJ.com report.
Wawa, Pa., is a chain of more than 600 convenience retail stores (approximately 300 offering gasoline) located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia and Florida.
Amazon's rollout of robots from a company it bought called Kiva Systems-which can shuttle shelves full of merchandise to warehouse workers rather than the other way around-may help pare 20% to 40% off the typical $3.50 to $3.75 cost of fulfilling a typical order, says Shawn Milne, a Janney Capital Markets analyst in aresearch note.
"We believe this could be a significant opportunity to drive higher operating efficiency across Amazon's massive fulfillment center network," said Milne in his note.
Amazon has been working to drive down order costs and speed delivery, in part by constructing more warehouses closer to urban centers. And while many of its latest efforts focus on the delivery itself, Kiva robots could help improve efficiency within its warehouses where humans, and human error, still rule the day.
The company bought Kiva in March 2012 for $775 million but......
Read rest of article at Source link on WSJ blog
For more than 30 years, Applebee's has defined the casual dining experience in America, influencing food trends for more than 1 million guests every day and defining value and service for the industry. Today, Applebee's steps into the future to redefine and enhance the guest experience through the installation of 100,000 E la Carte Presto tablets, powered by Intel, on every table and multiple bar positions at more than 1,800 Applebee's® restaurants in the United States by the end of next year.
Point-of-sale (POS) skimmers -- fraud devices made to siphon bank card and PIN data at the cash register -- have grown in sophistication over the years: A few months back, this blog spotlighted a professionally made point-of-sale skimmer that involved some serious hacking inside the device. Today's post examines a comparatively simple but effective POS skimmer that is little more than a false panel which sits atop the PIN pad and above the area where customers swipe their cards.
In scams, as with most things in life, there is a certain elegance in simplicity. This is doubly true with ATM and credit card skimmer scams: The more components and electronics involved, the greater the chance that the fraud devices will malfunction, lose juice, or else be detected too quickly. In fact, some of the most elegant skimming attacks I've seen to date never even touched the cash machine, and relied on very basic components.
Recently, I encountered a fraudster selling a remarkably simple but brilliant POS skimming device that can be installed and removed in the blink of an eye. This video, which was produced by a fraudster who sells these devices for thousands of dollars on semi-private underground forums, shows a late-modelVerifone point-of-sale device retrofitted with a skimmer overlay. The underside of the device (not pictured) includes a tiny battery and flash storage card that allows the fake PIN pad to capture the key presses, and record the data stored on the magnetic stripe of each swiped card.
Such a device would be an enticing buy for a crooked employee at a retail store. It might even be installed surreptitiously by thieves posing as customers at a retail establishment. Last month, this blog featured a story about several fraudsters in Florida who did just that, installing hardware-based register skimmers at Nordstrom department stores while co-conspirators distracted sales personnel.
For more on ATM and POS skimmers, check out my series: All About Skimmers
Some Apple Stores have had their point-of-sale systems go down repeatedly today, TechCrunch has learned. There was an extensive outage early Thursday morning and there has been an ongoing outage this evening in some stores.
Reports from our sources and from Twitter corroborate that there is some sort of issue going on right now. Apple Store employees are selling to customers with pad and pen, and old-fashioned credit card machines. The Apple Store POS system runs on a combination of software including the RetailMe app and EasyPay apps. The hardware consists of iPod touch and iPad machines running the software. The iPod touches are outfitted with battery cases and card readers and are used as mobile checkout devices.
Read rest of story at Source link
Internet shopping is growing rapidly in the Netherlands, with half of all purchases by Dutch retail customers expected to be online within a decade, RFS said.Online sales in the country rose by about 10 percent to more than 10.5 billion euros ($14.2 billion) in 2012, the Dutch association for online retailers said on its website.The new centre, covering 35,000 square metres, will be built in the northern Dutch city of Zwolle by 2015 at a cost of more than 100 million euros, RFS said.RFS, which sells clothing, accessories, small electronic appliances and furniture, is the second-largest Dutch online retailer, with annual sales of 600 million euros.