Ambitious high-tech rollout on the way from CBA
(19 July 2012 – Australia) The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is pushing ahead with its ambitious high-tech eftpos terminal, to be rolled out next year.
CB A hopes the move will give it an edge in processing payments on behalf of business customers, focussing on payments software and people looking to develop specialised ''apps'' that can be distributed to small and mid-sized businesses.
The banking major has already developed a range of payments apps including a split-the-bill program that allows payments in cafes or restaurants to be divided between multiple people and payment methods.
The move is part of its efforts to differentiate itself from rivals through technology, with as much as A$6 billion spent upgrading its core banking system in recent years.
CBA claims this overhaul gives it real-time processing of transactions. It is also looking at allowing customers to do their banking through the social network Facebook.
Among the bank's payments technology showcased yesterday was ''Albert'', a portable hand-held computer tablet, that lets customers pay by using new contactless cards or traditional magnetic-stripe cards.
The device, which is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of next year, has a seven-inch touch screen and operates on Google's Android operating system. The tablet also has a built-in camera that can scan barcodes, discount coupons, loyalty cards and even QR codes.
The tablet will be driven by CBA's Pi payments software, which it expects to install across its network of merchant point-of-sale devices.
This will allow outside software developers to design their own payment apps. Amid concerns over security, CBA insists it will have final approval over all apps before they are released for use.
For those merchants who do not want to use the Albert tablet, CBA has also launched a payments device that attaches to an iPhone, which allows the mobile phone to become a secure merchant card terminal.
The banking major has already developed a range of payments apps including a split-the-bill program that allows payments in cafes or restaurants to be divided between multiple people and payment methods.
The move is part of its efforts to differentiate itself from rivals through technology, with as much as A$6 billion spent upgrading its core banking system in recent years.
CBA claims this overhaul gives it real-time processing of transactions. It is also looking at allowing customers to do their banking through the social network Facebook.
Among the bank's payments technology showcased yesterday was ''Albert'', a portable hand-held computer tablet, that lets customers pay by using new contactless cards or traditional magnetic-stripe cards.
The device, which is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of next year, has a seven-inch touch screen and operates on Google's Android operating system. The tablet also has a built-in camera that can scan barcodes, discount coupons, loyalty cards and even QR codes.
The tablet will be driven by CBA's Pi payments software, which it expects to install across its network of merchant point-of-sale devices.
This will allow outside software developers to design their own payment apps. Amid concerns over security, CBA insists it will have final approval over all apps before they are released for use.
For those merchants who do not want to use the Albert tablet, CBA has also launched a payments device that attaches to an iPhone, which allows the mobile phone to become a secure merchant card terminal.
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