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NCR sprinkles new kiosks, ATM frills into conference mix

A self-service shipping kiosk led a small contingent of debuts at the company's Washington conference.

June 24, 2006

About the author: Joseph Grove is the associate publisher for NetWorld Alliance, ATMmarketplace's parent company.

Shortly after Bill Nuti, president and chief executive of NCR Corp., pledged to dominate the self-service industry, NCR unveiled several new or improved applications.

Most notable among them was a self-service mailing kiosk built on NCR's full-function FastLane Mini self-checkout kiosk platform.

Mike Webster, vice president and general manager for self-service with NCR's Retail Solutions Division, said the plethora of new business models created by eBay and its facilitation of the global, person-to-person movement of goods, sparked the platform idea.

"We believe that our customers, whether a small home-office user who comes to the (bank) branch to make a deposit, or a consumer who is in a retail establishment to make a purchase, can take advantage of the location," he said. "Currently, they are constrained by having to go to the post office between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. We want to be able to give the consumer the tool to have 24/7 access to shipping."

The application, which was first demonstrated last month at a self-service conference NCR hosted in Barcelona, Spain, is being developed in partnership with Pitney Bowes. That company, best known for postage machines that are as much a part of mailroom life as paper cuts and paper clips, June 13-15 introduced several new mailing services at eBay! Live in Las Vegas.

NCR's FastLane Mini self-checkout kiosk

"Collectively, we have more than 200 years of experience" serving self-service users and postal customers, Webster said.

The self-service shipping kiosk, which allows users to choose from a variety of carriers as well as a country's postal service, is expected to be piloted around the world by the third and fourth quarters of this year.

"What we're trying to do is create greater transparency to the consumer about shipping services," he said. "Today, there is a great mystery about how to calculate the rate. How I do know I got the best rate? How do I know that Federal Express isn't going to have a different rate than say, the United States Postal Service might have? By creating a self-service platform, we can take away all that complexity and present it to the consumer in a very simple and usable platform that lets them make their own decision."

Beyond consumer demand

NCR's Branch Assist

But consumer demand is only part of the kiosk's equation.

"Many of our retailers are giving us feedback that by putting a shipping kiosk in a retail environment, they can use that as an attraction for foot traffic and get greater loyalty by creating a convenient experience, particularly for the small-office or home-office business," Webster said.

Also at the conference

FastLane Mini. The "full-function" version of this small-footprint self-checkout kiosk now accepts all forms of tender, including cash. The unit was designed primarily for the international market, where retail floor space is scarce, but also for retail environments in the United States. The machine can function with only a 6-inch buffer on either side, and can handle nine languages, six simultaneously.

TouchPort II C. NCR and subsidiary Kinetics have upgraded their airport check-in kiosk to include optional passport scanning. The small footprint TouchPort family, found in 285 airports and used by 12 of the top 14 airlines, now is able to print more than 2,500 types of documents and features integrated barcode-imaging for easier passenger identification. The kiosk also works with common-use self-service (CUSS) applications, where multiple airlines can be accessed from one kiosk.

EasyPoint Xpress Check-In. The check-in kiosk now can be ordered with signature pads to electronically capture guests' signatures. Units also can encrypt hotel keycards.

NCR's new self-service shipping kiosk

The EasyPoint Xpress Order, developed with NCR subsidiary InfoAmerica, has been around for a while at McDonald's and Burger King locations, but is now in pilot phase at "one of the top three QSRs," a company spokesperson said. It can accept cash and process it through a currency recycler, making it more affordable for the deployer by reducing the cash-replenishment frequency.

"Our Touchware interface improves order accuracy and enhances upsell success, creates a more pleasant customer experience and increases revenue," said Paul Knight, CEO of InfoAmerica. "The NCR EasyPoint kiosk is an ideal platform for the quick-service industry with flexible payment options and multimedia capabilities."

The EasyPoint Xpress Payment kiosk is now able to function wirelessly and is moving beyond its cellular-payment proving grounds to interface with utility and cable companies.

The Personas 71 is a weatherized ATM that can serve customers who want outdoor access to cash without the bank having to build a through-the-wall unit or obtain a building permit for a dedicated structure.

Aptra Relate is ATM software that allows personalization that includes stored preferences such as language, common withdrawal amounts and receipt preferences. Bank customers also may sign up to receive text messages on their cell phones when withdrawals are made.

NCR Branch Assist. NCR showcased units that provide bank personnel information about customers using counter-mounted kiosks that allow tellers to offer products like specifically tailored loans and investments. Tellers can serve between three and five customers at a time, similar to attendants who monitor self-checkout kiosks at grocery stores.