ECR Retail Systems provides Big Bus Tours with a chip and PIN ticket to ride

ECR Retail Systems provides Big Bus Tours with a chip and PIN ticket to ride

ECR Retail Systems, supplier of mobile point-of-sale (MPoS) technologies, is providing Big Bus Tours with a world first: mobile, chip-and-pin enabled, handheld terminals that can be used by its mobile sales team to sell tickets to customers.

The system is the first ever to automate the entire ticket sale including the credit/debit card processing in a single piece of mobile hardware, according to the company. Big Bus Tours has already been trialling the system in Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai and has just completed the roll out across its London sightseeing operation.

Following its two-week launch, Big Bus Tours have been able to process ticket sales on the same mobile unit that handles credit card transactions. The unit requests transaction approval online via GPRS, allowing for a fast transaction for customer and operator. The unit also comes with an onboard scanner and printer so tickets can be administered easily. Unlike wireless card machines, the terminal handles the entire transaction processing for Big Bus Tours, as well as the card merchant. The terminals are owned by Big Bus Tours but are fully compliant and approved by card merchants.

International roll out deemed successful

The chip and PIN system – which went live in Dubai in November 2009, Hong Kong in December 2009, Shanghai in March 2010 and now London in April 2010 – has been rigorously tested with Mastercard, Visa and Barclays Bank to ensure it meets requirements for international payment processing standards, ECR said. It is currently the only mobile PoS unit to gain this online approval globally and that can be used via GPRS networking for card transactions, it added.

Simon Pont, director of ECR Retail Systems, commented: "This system puts ECR truly ahead of all competitors in the important mobile PoS market. The system is ideal for Big Bus Tours, as it supports the streamlining of ticket sales by highly mobile agents and handles the whole process online. The end result is better customer service and more efficient sales processing in significantly less time."