Point Of Sale, Payment Processing, And Data Collection News From September 2014
Each month, Business Solutions reports news on business in the channel. This month in Point of Sale and Payment Processing, companies announce their support of Apple Pay, BlueStar unveils a “Hybrid Solutions-as-a-Service” model, Apriva Pay Plus offers new analytics and accessibility features, Touch Dynamic announces a new all-in-one PC, and Datalogic releases a new 2D imager. Also in the news, PAR adds the PAR Tablet 10 and Tablet 8 accessories, Panasonic introduces a digital outdoor menu board and a virtual site manager, and StrandVision enhances its electronic signage CMS.
The Channel Rallies Around Apple Pay
With the announcement of Apple Pay, channel companies released news of their support of the mobile payment technology:
- Harbortouch, a POS system and merchant services provider, was involved with preannouncement development programs. The new payment option is available using the company’s near-field communication (NFC)-enabled Perkwave Terminal. Customers can simply tap their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, or Apple Watch near the contactless NFC reader to pay.
- Merchant Warehouse announced its Genius platform, a solution that aggregates and integrates any transaction method, payment type, or value-added program, was ready to accept Apple Pay from day one, with no additional development or updates.
- Pensmore Software, a company that provides integrated credit card payment solutions available to users of QuickBooks products, offers the ability to accept payments made with Apple Pay. Using integrated payments technology such as Pensmore’s with an inexpensive payments terminal — and passing payment along to their merchant services provider — SMB merchants can accept Apple Pay.
- Sterling Payment Technologies, which processed the payment industry’s first contactless payment using NFC, was completing testing of product options and planned to release stand-alone terminals and integrated solutions in support of the mobile payment technology at the time Apple announced the new technology.
- TSYS is providing products and certification of third-party devices to merchants to enable payments via Apple Pay and also supports software solutions by providing developers with SDKs/APIs (software development kits/application programming interfaces).
- TSYS also partnered with iMobile3 to facilitate processing transactions from Apple Pay with the cloud-based PassMarket platform. The platform’s capabilities include order ahead, loyalty, offers, e-gift cards, social media, and in-app messaging.
BlueStar Unveils “Hybrid Solutions-as-a-Service” Model
BlueStar, in partnership with HP Financial Services, announced a new hybrid SaaS model. For the launch, pcAmerica, HP, and Mercury Payment Systems partnered to create a bundled POS solution that will be provided to merchants for a monthly subscription cost and with the option to add third-party products. BlueStar channel partners receive their compensation up front, eliminating the problems of how to compensate sales reps and dealing with collections of monthly bills, and will be prompted to contact their merchant customer when the contract term is nearing expiration. BlueStar VP of marketing Mark Fraker explains, “It was our way to help you bridge that gap for transitioning your business to the recurring revenue business model.”
AprivaPay Plus Offers New Analytics And Accessibility Features
Apriva, a provider of end-to-end wireless transactions, gateway services, and secure information solutions, expanded the features of AprivaPay Plus, its mobile POS software. Brands using the software as a white-labeled application will now be able to access detailed anonymized analytics on their brand’s user base including demographics, geo-location, user engagement statistics, device information, and marketing data. It also now interconnects with a Web portal that provides merchants with online tools for managing inventory, analyzing their sales, and generating reports. In addition, AprivaPay Plus is the only mobile POS application that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), allowing banks and merchants to better serve the needs of customers with physical or visual impairments. Additional features include compatibility with iOS 8 and iPhone 6 and multilingual interfaces for Spanish- and French-speaking merchants.
Touch Dynamic Announces New All-In-One, PC
Touch Dynamic has released the Acrobat All-In-One POS terminal and Saturn DV PC. The Acrobat All-In-One is a touch terminal that features a fully adjustable die-cast foldable base and a 14-inch widescreen LCD LED. It is powered by an Intel Atom Dual Core D2550 1.86 GHz CPU; it is fanless, ventless, and spill- and dust-resistant; and it has a variety of IO ports and options including a magnetic stripe reader, biometric reader, and customer display. The Saturn DV PC features the Intel Celeron Quad Core Processor J1900 2.0 GHz with less power consumption and more IO ports than the Saturn DC, its predecessor. The new PC features a fanless and ventless design, and it is VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) wall-mountable and spill- and dust-resistant.
Datalogic Releases New 2D Imager
Datalogic announced the new PowerScan PM9500-DK 2D imager. It includes a phone-like, 16-key keyboard and omnidirectional scanning. This model features the latest generation of the company’s STAR2.0 Cordless System, providing high-speed wireless mobility from 433 MHz and 910 MHz radio communications. It is equipped with the new High Performance Liquid Lens, which allows the imager to adapt the focus at different distances, and it is rated IP65 for water- and dust-resistance and tested to withstand drops from more than 6 feet.
PAR Tablet 10, Tablet 8 Accessories Added To Product Line
ParTech, a subsidiary of PAR Technology Corp., now offers the PAR Tablet 10. It provides hospitality and retail customers with mobile POS capabilities, including tableside upselling and gaming. When used with a stand, it can be used as a self-service station; as an interface for loyalty program access, surveys; or interactive marketing, or to replace a traditional POS terminal. It features a 10-inch screen and 10 hours of real-world battery use. It is based on Microsoft Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry operating system and Intel architecture and with a life cycle model of up to four years.
The company also added accessories for the PAR Tablet 8, including a magnetic stripe reader smart back cover, a tablet shield, two cradle options, and neck or wrist straps.
Panasonic Introduces Digital Outdoor Menu Board, Virtual Site Manager
Panasonic has introduced Panasonic Digital Drive-Thru and Panasonic Virtual Site Manager for QSR businesses.
Digital Drive-Thru combines weatherproof, glare-resistant outdoor displays with outdoor mounting, integrated audio and video capabilities, and on-screen order confirmation. Configurations include single pre-order boards up to two-, three-, or four-screen setups, audio and video options, and custom frames and mounting.
Panasonic Virtual Site Manager is an integrated solution designed to provide remote store management. Combining video surveillance technology with POS systems, the solution pairs recorded video footage with transactional data, helping to prevent shrink and facilitating video analytics. It includes a searchable transaction video database, high-quality HD cameras, and scalable security and network recording systems.
StrandVision Enhances Electronic Signage CMS
StrandVision Digital Signage has enhanced the core customer administration pages of its digital signage content management system (CMS) portal. Enhancements include the addition of icons representing each category of page content to help identify and organize it, page refresh that allows administrators to see updated pages and make necessary adjustments, and error detection and reporting that identifies input errors and missing information and offers context-specific recommendations on how to address the issue or improve the content being displayed.