News

Bill-payment c-store kiosks take off in Canada

June 28, 2005

Vancouver Sun: Burnaby-based Info Touch Technologies Corp. is launching a new service in the Lower Mainland - a "virtual kiosk" at a convenience store where you can pay many of your bills whenever you want.

The Internet kiosks have been set up in the Lower Mainland's 32 Mac's Convenience Stores - the first such kiosks in Canada, Info Touch said Monday.

"We feel really, really blessed to be in this partnership," company chief executive officer Hamed Shahbazi said while launching the service at a Burnaby Mac's store.

"Now you can go to your closest Mac's convenience store and do your banking," he said.

According to the 30-year-old Shahbazi, the kiosks allow customers to walk into the Mac's store and, for a two-dollar fee, pay bills, recharge cellphone time cards, purchase Western Union money orders and WiFi access - all at one location.

Customers can also send video emails and photos at the kiosk, which is called ZapLink.

As part of Monday's launch, Shahbazi conducted a couple of transactions at the kiosk, including paying a phone bill.

Shahbazi, whose company already operates about 500 kiosks in 25 states south of the border, said he hopes to eventually have them in the rest of B.C. and throughout Canada.

"You just have to think, `Where's my closest Mac's?' That's the power of the brand."

Shahbazi said that about 220,000 customers in the United States use their kiosks monthly, creating about $6 million in gross revenues in 2004 with the service.

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[Editor's note: Info Touch Technologies became Tio Networks in April 2006.]