Poundland is quids in with Commidea
Ocius for PCs DatasheetWith more than 150 stores, serving 1.7m customers per week, Poundland is Europe’s largest single price retailer. Although its business has been built on cash payments alone, Poundland wanted to offer customers greater flexibility at the checkout.
Poundland needed a Chip & PIN solution that would meet the growing demand in store for card payments and would be adaptable to future advances – like Contactless Payment systems, mobile phone top-ups and loyalty/gift cards.
Ocius for PCs, from card payment processing experts Commidea, offered an IP solution for the chain that was right on the money. It is already revolutionising Poundland’s customer transactions and boosting sales, as people are now able to splash out more than just the change in their pocket.
Following a successful trial of the Chip & PIN solution in 13 sites last November, Poundland is now well on the way to Chip & PIN being available within all stores.
Backed by Commidea’s flexible, fully managed and PCI DSS compliant card processing system, Ocius for PCs offered many attractive benefits for Poundland. These included super fast transactions, pre-approval from all UK banks and the option not to print unnecessary and wasteful merchant receipts for every card payment.
Commidea was also able to adapt the system to match Poundland’s exact needs, such as integrating the solution directly with the tills for quicker service.
Mike Gray, Poundland’s IT Controller, said: “One of our core company values is that we always put customers first. Introducing a card payment system gives our customers more flexible payment options and opens up the possibility to other services.”
“We needed a pre-tested, bank approved solution that was affordable and could be quickly installed. Commidea was able to deliver on all fronts, offering a bespoke solution that met all our requirements and could be up and running in double quick time.”
He added: “Commidea worked really well to overcome serious business obstacles we were facing, such as our concerns about card payments lengthening queues, and we are very happy with the commitment we received in customising Ocius for PCs."
“Commidea provided the best of both worlds; a solution that didn’t need bank testing but could still be adapted to meet our needs in a few key areas.”
The Ocius for PCs system offers a wide array of benefits that makes it suitable for the requirements of all types of client.
Eliminating the need for a separate Chip & PIN terminal, Ocius for PCs provides a simplistic yet highly versatile approach to Chip & PIN integration. Like the entire Ocius suite of products, the system requires no bank testing, making it the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective solution.
Using software developed by Commidea, which can be installed on any PC running Windows 2000 or higher, the only hardware that is required is a PIN pad.
Ocius for PCs utilises Commidea’s fully hosted and managed card processing service, eliminating the need for Poundland to install and maintain their own payment servers. The service is backed by technical support seven days a week, is PCI DSS compliant and uses X.25, the fastest card authorisation communications network.
Poundland also benefited from Commidea’s web-based reporting and management information system, WebCom, that comes as standard with Commidea’s Ocius for PCs solution.
This completes the cycle to ensure Ocius for PCs is not just a Chip & PIN device, but a total payment processing solution.