News

Australian bank takes financial, retail services to the newsstand

August 22, 2002

SYDNEY, Australia -- Australian financial services institution St.George Bank is teaming with technology companies TouchCorp Ltd. and Intellect to deliver a wide range of financial and retail services to St.George customers throughout Australia via newsagents.

The program will utilize TouchCorp's electronic services kiosk, The Touch Machine. The unit, which is installed in Shell service stations in four Australian states and territories, and at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport, offers customers the opportunity to purchase phone cards movie tickets, and other retail items. The kiosk accepts credit and debit cards and prints out both the product and a receipt.

The St.George project utilizes Intellect's smart card and electronic payment solutions with The Touch Machine to provide more than 30 products, including phone cards, tickets, and vouchers. The machines will be located at newsstands -- which sell newspapers, magazines, and snacks -- and eventually to other retail merchants throughout the country, according to Intellect.

St.George officials said this was another way for the bank to expand its customer base.

"St.George is committed to support new initiatives that grow our merchant base and these new value-added services will help us achieve that aim," Phil Kanizay, St.George national manager, electronic business solutions, said in a news release.

Kanizay said the project has garnered the support of Newsagents Solutions Ltd. in the state of Victoria, and that a pilot program is in the development stage with newsstand merchants in Queensland. The number of units involved in the program was not disclosed.