Also from RandyBachman on Stockhouse:
Looks like we can expect a VAR deal or two in the point of sale vertical. Quote from Cliff.
RFID: Interest Trickles Downward
The near future will see channel players beginning to ride the wave of such RFID-centered payment processing applications as Exxon/Mobil Speedpass (which currently has some 4.5 million users and is now being tested at 400 Chicagoland McDonald's outlets), Philpass (implemented at 20 of Phillips Petroleum's Kicks convenience stores in the Kansas City, MO area) and EasyPay (recently launched in Canada by Shell Oil). "Operators who sell small ticket-items-for instance, QSRs, mini-markets, pharmacies and movie theaters-are, more than ever, looking at RFID payments as a competitive edge," notes Anthony Garcia, vice president, small ticket markets, MasterCard International.
Over the past few months, Exxon/Mobil has been inundated with inquiries from merchants wishing to jump on the Speedpass bandwagon. Accordingly, it has formed Speedpass Network, an entity that will work with supermarkets, drug stores and video rental outlets that want to accept Speedpass payments. Details of partnerships with specific retailers were slated to be announced at year-end, reports Joe Giordano, Speedpass Network's vice president of business development. Meanwhile, VeriFone, Atlanta, GA, has rolled out an RFID payment system called VeriPass. Fifteen independent gas stations have implemented the system, which differs from Speedpass in that it is chip- rather than transponder-based.
Neither Speedpass nor its counterparts are presently sold through VARs and ISOs, but sources expect the tide to turn shortly. "As more programs become available, even the smallest retailers will seriously consider (this version of) RFID," asserts Cliff Horwitz, chairman and CEO, SAMSys Technologies Inc., Toronto. "And because the technology isn't `plug and play' the way most retail applications are, these merchants will demand some manner of reseller support." Besides designing technology infrastructures and selling hardware, VARs' work will involve identifying proper communication frequencies and configuring software fields to properly interrogate bar codes, as well as customizing applications to jibe with loyalty and other proprietary applications.
"One critical thing for VARs to remember," Horwitz says, "is that operators who invest in RFID for payment processing will want systems that meet very stringent criteria. For instance, it won't be good enough for codes to be properly interrogated 60 percent of the time; 90 percent will be the bare minimum."
He adds that his firm, whose RFID readers are utilized with Speedpass, is in the midst of formulating systems development tools aimed at the channel. These are scheduled for rollout in 2002. SAMSys is also working in cooperation with other vendors to put together a network of VARs to specialize in RFID payment processing applications for retailers in all verticals. |
