Our Product Pick

A new thermal printer previewed by Bixolon America (Torrance, CA), Model SRP-Q300II, features compact 5"/125 mm cubic design. With 3"/80 mm print width, it delivers maximum speed of 9.8"/250 mm per second at 203 dpi. In addition to power delivery by USB Type-C, it carries USB Host x 3, Bluetooth, and Dual-Band Wireless LAN (2.4 and 5 GHz). As O/S, there's support for Android, iOS, and Windows. Also, web-based management software, "XPM" and "XCM," comes with the new SRP-Q300II. "Our latest offering is poised to provide customers with a practical mPOS printer featuring enhanced functionality," stated John Kim, Marketing Director for Bixolon Co., Ltd. (Seongnam, South Korea).

Bixolon's SRP-Q300II Printer

COMPANY BUSINESS

Checkmate Raises Its Voice

Adding Voice AI to its restaurant ordering technology, Checkmate (New York, NY) has purchased VoiceBite (Cupertino, CA). A small, privately held developer, VoiceBite was founded in 2023 by Robert Nessler, who now serves as VP of Operations, AI for Checkmate. His experience includes key roles at AI-focused firms, Kea, CyborgOPS, and Presto.

"Acquiring VoiceBite allows us to provide a truly unified ordering experience for our restaurant partners," relayed Mike Bell, Chief of Strategy at Checkmate. "By integrating Voice AI capabilities directly into our platform, restaurants can now offer seamless phone ordering and drive-thru (coming in Q4 2024) alongside their other digital channels. This improves operational efficiency while delivering the exceptional service that keeps customers coming back."

In announcing the purchase, Checkmate (the recently rebranded ItsaCheckmate), cited the capability of advanced Large Language Models (LLM) in VoiceBite. As key benefits of this integration, it lists: ease of implementation, smart upselling, context awareness, multi-language capacity, natural cadence, text ordering and payment, and 24/7 support. It notes that VoiceBite handles over 95% of voice-ordering scenarios without human intervention.

Checkmate, the former ItsaCheckmate, Adds VoiceBite AI Restaurant Order Technology

i3 Lands on Payroc

Acquisition of the merchant services business and related payments software and technology of i3 Verticals (Nashville, TN) has been announced by Payroc WorldAccess (Tinley Park, IL). An all-cash transaction will total $440M, subject to certain purchase price adjustments. As markets, i3 Verticals focuses on Transportation, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Public Safety, Utilities, and Justice.

"i3 began as a payments business, and we built a top-of-the-line merchant-of-record payment platform, bringing a wide variety of solutions to third-party partners and software providers," proclaimed Greg Daily, Chairman and CEO of i3. "We do not part with this platform lightly, and we believe it has a bright future. We are proud and appreciative of our team managing this business and we are confident we have found them the right home."

"i3's merchant business is an ideal fit for Payroc, and their values and goals align with ours," contributed James Oberman, CEO of Payroc. "Our ongoing commitment to combine a personal relationship with payments technology will enhance growth for i3's partners and create opportunity for i3's team members that join Payroc once the transition closes." At that time, Payroc will handle more than $115B of annual processing volume for approximately 190,000 customers in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, the UK, and the European Union.

James Oberman, CEO of Payroc, Announces Purchase of i3 Verticals

Worth Your While

RetailNOW
Retail Solutions Providers Association
July 28-30
Las Vegas, NV

Partner First Conference
ScanSource
August 19-20
Greenville, SC

VARTECH
BlueStar
September 16-17
Orlando, FL

FSTEC
Foodservice Tech/Winsight
September 16-18
Grapevine, TX

Money 20/20
Ascential PLC
October 27-30
Las Vegas, NV

Pack Expo
PMMI-Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies
November 3-6
Chicago, IL

MJBizCon
MJBizDaily
December 3-6
Las Vegas, NV

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Epson Speeds Up

A new hybrid printer for POS from Epson America (Los Alamitos, CA), OmniLink Model TM-H6000VI, boosts print speeds and ensures accuracy of check processing. In thermal receipts, and 3"/80 mm print width, it features maximum speed of 19.7"/500 mm per second at 180 dpi. In slip and endorsement, with dot-matrix print speed of 5.7"/145 mm per second and 4"/102 mm per second, respectively, OmniLink TM-H6000VI features accuracy of 99.9%. It replaces the Models TM-H6000V and TM-H2000 from Epson America.

At 7.3"/186 mm (W) x 11"/278 mm (D) x 7.1"/181 mm (H), weighing 9.7 lbs./4.4 kg, the OmniLink TM-H6000VI has built-in USB Type-A, USB Type-B, and Ethernet. A "Connect-It" (UIB), furnishes Serial, Parallel, Powered USB, and Wireless. A paper-saving function reaches 49%. Additional elements include long-life printhead and auto-cutter, water-resistant enclosure in black or white, and two-year limited warranty.

"In today's ever-evolving retail, grocery, and financial sectors, businesses require a multi-function POS solution that improves transaction speeds and can accept all forms of payments their customers prefer, including checks, which remain important to consumers in many environments," summarized David Vander Dussen, Product Manager at Epson America. "The new powerful OmniLink TM-H6000VI touts industry-best speeds, high check processing accuracy, and is engineered for the reliability needed to help businesses best serve their customers today and into the future." It includes Epson's TM Utility App and Web Server Direct Print Function.

OmniLink TM-H6000VI Hybrid Printer by Epson

At the Castle - Payments

A bundle for food and beverage service (F&B) in the hotel industry has been introduced by ISV xnPOS (Sunrise, FL), payment processor Adyen (San Francisco, CA and Amsterdam, Netherlands), and hardware manufacturer Castles Technology (Kennesaw, GA). A single platform furnishes end-to-end ordering, payments, and financial management. Utilizing the Model SF12 Payment Terminal from Castles Technology, it includes functions such as tipping, partial payment, and bill splitting.

In dimensions of 7.9"/200 mm (L) x 3.1"/78 mm (W) x 2.2"/56 mm (D), weighing 18 oz./0.5 kg, the Castle SF12 runs Android O/S. Accepting Chip-and-PIN, MSR, and NFC Contactless, it features 5.5" touchscreen and built-in 2"/50 mm thermal receipt printer. Also, camera, barcode scanner, 5840 mAh battery, Wireless LAN, and Cellular WAN.

"We are convinced that truly mobile POS and payments will revolutionize F&B service in hotels and we are delighted to add another powerful solution to our product portfolio with the Adyen-enabled version of xnPOS Mobile Pay," declared Mark Pearman, Chief Commercial Officer for xnPOS. "A leading global payments provider, Adyen complements our own extensive geographic footprint, with xnPOS installed in some 50 companies worldwide." As additional hardware partners on its website, xnPOS includes Partner Tech (Anaheim, CA) and Wintec (Qingdao, Shandong, China).

A Solution for Food & Beverage Service in Hotels

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Week of June 17

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Week of April 29

A Message From the Editor

As we eagerly enter another year--approaching 20!--our mission remains constant: to fill the need for timely, focused, non-biased news in the channel for POS & Auto ID (and now Mobility). If anything, that need grows more pressing in the face of new technologies, go-to-market strategies, business models, and consumer expectations. We look forward to continuing our mission, and welcome your suggestions and thoughts on improvements.

Michael Kachmar, Editor

ALLIANCES

A Bite of Self-Service

A strategic partnership in restaurants leverages the customer engagement and loyalty platform of Thanx (San Francisco, CA) and the self-service/kiosk platform of Bite (New York, NY). It recognizes and updates customer status at time of check-out, allowing for relevant recommendations, promotions, and rewards, much the same as personalization typically found in mobile apps and web ordering. Both Thanx and Bite enjoy multiple partners in payment processing and POS.

"We recognize the growing importance of self-service kiosks in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industry," observed Zach Goldstein, CEO of Thanx. "Our partnership with Bite allows us to provide merchants with a solution that not only enhances operational efficiency but also ensures that loyalty programs remain central to the customer experience at every guest touchpoint." A dedicated credit-card tokenization payment technology is proprietary to Thanx.

"Via seamless integration with Thanx and Bite, we've revolutionized the user experience for our guests," reported Caprice Kindgren, Director of Marketing at salad/sandwich chain Urbane Cafe. "Addressing their request of redeeming rewards on kiosks, this integration has made it effortless for our guests. All their rewards are visible on the screen."

Integration of Thanx Loyalty With Bite Kiosks

Edenred Follows the Northstar

A new partner for financial services player, Edenred Pay (Bonita Springs, FL), sees club and hospitality ISV, Northstar (Alpharetta, GA). A solution for so-called "invoice-to-pay" by Edenred Pay will now be offered to customers of Northstar. It automates, optimizes, and monetizes the entire invoice-to-pay cycle, according to its developer, from invoice receipt through payment reconciliation (and ties to Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP).

"Northstar is dedicated to providing clubs with the tools they need to succeed operationally, helping them create exceptional member and resident experiences," expounded Alex Withers, Chief of Sales and Marketing at Northstar. "Our integration with Edenred Pay represents a significant step forward in achieving that goal, offering clubs a seamless and efficient solution for managing their finances." As additional new partners, Northstar has recently enlisted hospitality accounting firm, Data Plus (North Chelmsford, MA), and home owner association management firm, Frontsteps (Denver, CO).

Together, Northstar and Edenred Pay have more 50 years of combined experience in the club software and finance automation industry. A customer base includes thousands of country clubs, yacht clubs, and community associations, with approximately 10,000 customers worldwide. Also, access to over 1,000,000 supplier relationships.

Northstar Club Management Software (Shown Here) Embraces Invoice-to-Pay by Edenred Pay

Code Corner

Electronic Payments, Inc.
POS Bill of Rights

"Our POS Bill of Rights only solidifies the commitment we have made to our merchants."
-Michael Nardy, Founder and CEO, Electronic Payments, Inc. (Calverton, NY).

It promises:
-Transparent Pricing/Honest Billing
-Reliable Uptime Commitments
-Data Privacy and Security
-Responsive Customer Support
-User-Friendly Interface
-Continuous Improvement
-Fair Contract Terms
-Training and Resources
-Input and Feedback
-Cancellation and Data Retrieval

"This initiative will set a new standard in the industry and help our merchants thrive."
-Steve Messemer, Director of POS Products, Electronic Payments, Inc.

.

TableTurn by Electronic Payments, Inc.

Smarter Self-Checkout

A latest version of self-checkout software, incorporating computer vision and AI, has been released by Partner Tech USA (Anaheim, CA). A notable addition is the so-called Picklist Assistant, which streamlines the purchase of items such as vegetables, fruit, and specialty products. It eliminates the need for customers to manually navigate menus to identify such items, which often results in mistakes or requests for store worker help. Automatically recognizing items, it requires only customer confirmation. It also fights fraud. "Our latest AI-driven self-checkout system empowers stores to enhance profitability while maintaining efficiency," enthused Shane Colvin, Head of Store Transformation at Partner Tech USA.

Starling Self-Checkout by Partner Tech USA

ENVIRONMENTS/PLATFORMS

ECRS Walks CoupDog

An initial integration--Phase I-- between digital coupons by CoupDog (Toronto, ON, Canada) and Catapult Retail POS by ECRS (Boone, NC) has succeeded. A customer account in Catapult allows shoppers to access offers carried by CoupDog by browsing the coupon gallery or while exploring products. Coupons may be redeemed online or at the in-store checkout. At present, CoupDog has over 100 participating brands of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG).

"ECRS has been a fantastic partner," testified Rob Balfour, CEO of CoupDog. "They have a very elegant cloud-based architecture and talented technical team that resulted in a successful integration between our platforms. Together, we also have a very exciting product roadmap and will be delivering even more exciting new capabilities in 2024."

In Phase II of this partnership, CoupDog and ECRS will incorporate advanced tools that enable retailers to personalize and target coupons for specific groups of shoppers. It will also introduce new in-store coupon activation tools. "Our goal is to empower independent retailers with new ways to enhance shopper experiences and elevate their promotional strategies," shared Pete Catoe, Founder and CEO of ECRS.

CoupDog's Digital Couponing Comes to ECRS' Catapult Retail POS

[Editor's Note: ECRS has also recently introduced "Chip-and-Tap" for Snap EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer).]

Dynamsoft Displays Character

As enhancement to its Label Recognizer SDK (Software Development Kit), Dynamsoft (Vancouver, BC, Canada) has offered Version 3.2.0. An SDK for OCR (Optical Character Recognition), Dynamsoft's Label Recognizer addresses the range of scanning use cases for MRZ (Machine Readable Zone), from passports to price tags to inventory labels. "We're unveiling our most significant investment yet in the SDK," remarked Amy Gu, President of Dynamsoft. "[Our] customers have been waiting."

In the past, Label Recognizer SDK primarily focused on capturing single rows of text. In Version 3.2.0, in contrast, it delivers "spatial text line grouping," encompassing two to three lines of text positioned closely together. A second benefit: improved individual character recognition, such as discerning between the letter "o" (as in "olive"), capital "O" (as in "Ohio"), and the digit "0" (as in "zero").

Version 3.2.0 SDK furnishes support for font and confused character sets. As fonts, it currently supports: Arial, Courier New, Helvetica, OCR B, Times New Roman, and Verdana. As commonly confused character sets, it currently supports: ["0", "o", "O"], ["I", "1", "I"], ["5", "s", "S"]. It may be purchased and downloaded from the website at Dynamsoft. Editions cover development for C/C++, .NET, Java, Android, and iOS.

Dynamsoft Updates Its Label Recognizer SDK

Key Advertiser Links

Be sure to visit these vendors for the latest in channel products and offers for resellers.

POS & Peripherals
Bixolon America
Electronic Payments
Epson America
FEC POS
HiStone
HP
Ingenico
Optima Systems
POSBANK USA
Posiflex
Sam4s/Shin Heung Precision
Star Micronics
Toshiba

Barcode Printers
Bixolon America
Brother Mobile
Epson America
GoDEX Americas
Woosim Systems

Cash Drawers/Cash Handling
apg/APG Cash Drawer

Data Collection
MobileDemand
Star Micronics
Unitech America

Integrated Payment Solutions
Charge Anywhere
Datacap Systems
Electronic Payments
Ingenico
Miura Systems
North American Bancard

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Brother Mobile
Epson America
Star Micronics
Woosim Systems

Stands, Mounts, Cradles
apg/APG Cash Drawer
Star Micronics

INSTALLATIONS

They Bet on PDQ

Another contract win in the regional casino space for Signature Systems, Inc. (Westminster, PA), awarded by Seven Clans Casino-Red Lake Gaming. It will outfit three sites--including casino, restaurant, hotel, and in one case, waterpark--in Northern Minnesota with SSI's PDQ POS. Among the dozens of touchpoints to be installed are all-in-ones, tablets, and self-service/kiosks for POS. A duration of one week per location is anticipated for employee training.

"This upgrade is part of our commitment to offering the best experience to our guests at all three locations of Seven Clans," indicated Angela Dauphinais, CEO of Seven Clans Casinos-Red Lake Gaming. "PDQ POS gives us hospitality capabilities that we've never had before, but just as important to us, they value the importance of providing full support of their products. We know we can count on them to ensure our profit centers are running as efficiently as they can."

"The tribal casino space continues to be a place where our POS just clicks," projected John White, EVP/CTO of Signature Systems, Inc. "Seven Clans Casinos will now receive the industry-leading support and features the PDQ brand is known for. We hope our partnership with this important business community will help them continue to thrive in an increasingly competitive space."

Seven Clans Casinos-Red Lake Gaming Picks PDQ POS by Signature Systems, Inc.

Easy on the Pallet: Robotics

A new generation of robots for automated warehouse workflows has been fueled by $100M in Series C Funding--including recent $40M--raised by Vecna Robotics (Waltham, MA). As participants: Tiger Global Management, Proficio Capital Partners, and Impulse. Addressing pallet moving, in particular, Vecna Robotics has served customers such as Caterpillar, FedEx, Geodis, and Shape. It calls its platform the Pivotal Command Center. "A new, ground-breaking case picking solution that nearly doubles performance," will be forthcoming, according to Andy Johnston, Senior Director of Innovation at logistics leader, Geodis.

In order to help power its expansion, Vecna Robotics has hired Michael Helmbrecht as its COO. He most recently served as VP of Product Management at video conferencing firm, RingCentral. Previous employers have included AmplifAI, Lifesize, Logitech, and Dell.

"Finalizing this capital raise, with the help of our existing and new financing partners, is huge validation that we are on the right track," put forth Craig Malloy, CEO at Vecna Robotics. "With fresh capital secured, we have the balance sheet to help us drive growth with our existing customers through improved product performance and the release of new automation technology that will change the game for material handling in warehousing and distribution." It estimates the market for autonomous pallet-moving technology at $165B.

Autonomous Pallet Mover by Vecna Robotics

Channel Factoid

Mobile POS Purchase
Intent by Retail Tier
(Surveyed in 2023)

Overall

23%: Currently in Use

16%: Within 12 Months

7%: 12-24 Months

Tier 1

41%: Currently in Use

16%: Within 12 Months

11%: 12-24 Months

Tier 2

29%: Currently in Use

29%: Within 12 Months

Tier 3

9%: Currently in Use

15%: Within 12 Months

4%: 12-24 Months

Source: "North America mPOS Market Size - Trends, Growth, Forecasts (2024-2028)" by IHL Group

Tier 1 Leads in Mobile POS

HELLO GOODBYE

PCI SSC's Engagement Party

An eye on stakeholders--including payment networks, financial institutions, merchants, service providers, and regulatory bodies--the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC, in Wakefield, MA) has enlisted Diana Greenhaw as its Head of Engagement. Her resume includes Compliance Officer-Payment Networks Relationship Manager at Vantiv/Worldpay and VP-Global Payment System Risk at Visa. Most recently, she served as Head of Security-Governance, Risk, and Compliance at Block (formerly Square).

"Having been involved with the PCI SSC for more than a decade, I know first-hand how important their mission is and the vital role payment stakeholders all around the world play in keeping payments safe," expressed Greenhaw. "The PCI SSC serves as the benchmark for designing standards and programs to protect payments. The future of payment security will be driven by including expertise and feedback from a broad base of industry stakeholders. As one of those stakeholders for years, I look forward to leading that important campaign."

"We are delighted to welcome Diana Greenhaw as our Head of Engagement," commented Gina Gobeyn, Executive Director of the PCI SSC. "Diana brings more than 20 years of experience working in payment security. She has served on both the PCI SSC's Executive Committee and Board of Advisors. This newly formed position will focus on better engaging with our expanded stakeholder groups as we shape the future of payment security. Diana is an ideal fit for this role."

Diana Greenhaw, Head of Engagement, PCI SSC

A Pro Takes AIM

A recognition for Julie McGill as "Professional of the Year" by AIM North America (Pittsburgh, PA), the industry association for Auto ID and Data Capture. Now VP of Supply Chain Strategy and Insights at FoodLogiQ/Trustwell (Salem, OR), McGill was named to the AIM North America Board in April. She previously served as Senior Director of Foodservice at GS1 US, Key Account Manager at 1SYNC, VP of Client Services at Transora, and EDI Coordinator at Coors Brewing Company.

"Julie has demonstrated unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership, and profound impact on industry standards," emphasized AIM North America. "At FoodLogiQ/Trustwell, Julie spearheaded the development of cutting-edge traceability solutions, positioning the company as a leader in transparency and efficiency within the food supply chain. Her strategic vision and thought leadership have significantly influenced the industry, fostering innovation and best practices."

Julie McGill Wins "Professional of the Year" for AIM North America