News

Coinstar to offer payroll distribution at kiosks

April 24, 2003

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HOUSTON -- Coinstar, which is currently conducting a prepaid phone top-up pilot at 75 of its coin-counting kiosks in supermarkets (See related story Top-ups at ATM move into market), plans to offer with payroll distribution, another service that has previously been piloted at ATMs. (See related story Pushing the (pay) envelope)

In a partnership with Financial Stored Value Payment Systems, Ltd. (FSV), Coinstar plans to link its Coinstar Center kiosks to payroll debit cards. The program will be introduced in 2003's third quarter, according to a news release.

Initially, employees paid directly on a payroll debit card will be able to check their balances and print an wage statement from the Coinstar Center. FSV will also offer a voucher at participating supermarkets that an employee can redeem at the grocer for cash.

"Payroll debit cards have recently become popular among major employers because they eliminate paper checks, creating significant cost savings," said Eric Miller, FSV's chief executive, in the release. "The ePayStub print solution enhances these savings further by allowing them to also eliminate the wage statement and go completely paperless."

According to the release, the voucher will enable employees to receive up to 100 percent of their pay in cash with a single transaction, subject to retailer guidelines. Because ATMs have limits on transaction amounts and typically dispense cash in $10 or $20 increments, it is difficult for employees to withdraw cash for the entire amount of their pay.

Rich Stillman, chief operating officer of Coinstar, said in the release that the partnership with FSV is consistent with Coinstar's strategy of "becoming a convenient touch point for a wide range of consumer services that save people time and money and simplify their lives."