News

Financial kiosk one of many solutions on display

August 29, 2005

As businesses adopt many kinds of self-service technology at an ever faster rate, it just didn't seem right to Greg Swistak that The Kiosk Show - his baby since NetWorld Alliance purchased the event last year - wasn't changing with the times. Swistak, a NetWorld vice president, talked to his team and updated the name: The Self-Service & Kiosk Show.

"The kiosk market is diversifying," said NetWorld senior vice president and show organizer Greg Swistak. "It's becoming increasingly difficult to look at machines such as self-service checkouts, smart carts, shopping assistants, automated shipping machines and digital signage and call them kiosks."

The show is Oct. 17-18 in San Francisco at the South San Francisco Conference Center. (NetWorld Alliance also publishes this executive summary.) The two-day event not only highlights self-service technology but also features real-world kiosk demonstrations. In addition, speakers from companies such as Cisco, Dell and NCR will discuss end-market applications for the technology.

Exhibitor space has been filled since early August.

"I think the fact that we have a full exhibit floor is evidence that self-service is one of the hottest trends in business today," Swistak said. "The market demand for self-service technology touches virtually every industry including retail, hospitality, financial services and beyond, and these exhibitors are ready to meet that demand."

One of the more than 40 exhibitors is Info Touch Technologies, which is bringing its TIO bill pay kiosk. TIO - Spanish for "uncle" - is the largest national multiretailer network of financial services kiosks for unbanked consumers in North America.

Services offered by the network include bill payment, PIN dispensing for long-distance and wireless calling, and money orders and transfers. Installation of the machine allows c-store operators to move traffic away from counters, allow staff to focus on delivering higher levels of customer service, and reduce cash shrinkage.

About 500 TIO machines have been installed in businesses such as ExxonMobil stations, Speedway SuperAmerica, Kum & Go and NOCO Express.

"Speedway SuperAmerica and Info Touch are focused on delivering a host of tangible benefits to cash-preferred customers," said Hamed Shahbazi, chairman and chief executive officer of Info Touch. "Our research supports the notion that the cash-preferred customers are a growing, vital and underserved demographic all over the U.S."

Also among TIO network customers is Maverik Country Stores Inc. Maverik deployed the terminals at 35 select c-stores in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boise, Idaho. Customers can pay their wireless, utility and cable bills and purchase prepaid products and services with cash. The companies plan to unveil additional products and services such as money order, money transfer, prepaid credit and debit cards, check cashing and mobile content. The services will continue to be geared toward the growing underbanked marketplace.

"We are pleased to have Info Touch place their TIO branded next-generation self-service terminals in our stores," said Brad Call, vice president of marketing for Maverik. "TIO is sure to be a hit with our patrons as it helps us deliver on a growing services category."

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