Tesco goes live with Chip & PIN
Stevenage and Northampton stores lead the way for UK rollout
July 9th 2003, Fleet, Hampshire - Retail Logic's Smart-Switch card payment software has played a key role in helping Tesco go live with Chip & PIN at the Point of Sale. This new technology is expected to cut card fraud by at least 50% and is now in use at stores in Northampton - site of the UK's Chip & PIN town trial - and Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
As the UK’s leading retailer, Tesco now faces the daunting task of rolling out EMV Chip and PIN to almost 2,000 stores across the UK. The stores processing live Chip & PIN transactions include the massive Weston Favell Extra, Northampton South and Abington Express branches in Northampton, along with Broadwater Stevenage – where the first live Chip & PIN transaction was successfully completed earlier this week.
Last year saw Tesco trialling Retail Logic's software along with new Dione swipe & park card readers in three of its stores and the retail giant is now gathering further vital experience prior to the January 2005 deadline by when all retailers have to implement EMV Chip & PIN, or become liable for card fraud.
Tesco project manager Stewart Hopkins said: "Retail Logic’s software-based solution gives us the vendor independence we want, coupled with the best performance available. And in a multi-lane environment, changing software rather than hardware is far easier, quicker and much cheaper. Now our customers can look forward to shorter queues and faster transaction times”.
“The success of this project is testimony to the close working relationship we have developed with Tesco over the years,” added Tim Stratton, Retail Logic Managing Director. “This already-close relationship has been further strengthened with the addition of expertise from Wincor Nixdorf, Retalix and Dione. Smart Card acceptance is highly complex; implementations take time; require professional planning and, as the migration deadline looms, companies should
To read the official Northampton Trial Report click here..
About Retail Logic
For 15 years, Retail Logic has been a leading provider of payment processing software for any form of payment card and across multiple platforms, including the Internet. In 2002, the EMV-accredited Smart-Solution was named ‘Most Innovative Product of the Year’ at the Advanced Card Awards in London and ‘Best Software’ at the Cartes Awards in Paris.
Retail Logic is playing a key role as Britain prepares to adopt EMV Chip & PIN. In the UK, users include over 50% of leading retail stores and four of the top five supermarkets. The company also has major initiatives underway across Europe, the United States, ASPAC and Africa.
Notes to Editors
The Northampton trial
The first chip and PIN transactions in the UK are now taking place in Northampton with the town becoming the first place to introduce the new card fraud busting system. Shops, pubs & hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and garages across the town are now trialling the system, which means that customers with the cards are being asked to key in their 4-digit number, better known as a PIN (personal identification number), instead of signing a receipt when they go to pay.
One hundred and fifty thousand people in Northampton (over half the adult population) have been sent new cards from their banks and outlets will be 'switching on' Chip and PIN terminals. The trial will continue through June and July and after this, the initiative will continue in Northampton and start to be rolled out throughout the UK.
Shops in Northampton processing chip and PIN transactions include ASDA (Corby), Blenders, Braylake Cars, Chanse Leather Goods, Dollond & Aitchison, Gamestation, Health Quest, Holiday Inn, Montague Jeffery, Phones 4 U, Pitsford Water Cycles, three Safeway stores, Sanity Entertainment (Our Price), Sisley, Spinadisc, Supabikes, Tie Rack and Vodafone.
Now the first wave of retailers is being joined by a host of leading names including all:sports, JD Sports, JJB Sports, Marks & Spencer, McDonald's, Morrisons, Next, Moat House Hotels, Scottish & Newcastle Retail pubs including The Rat and Parrot, Tesco, Texaco Service Stations, TOTAL petrol stations, WHSmith, Wilkinson and Woolworths. In total, around 1,000 outlets will participate.
American Express, Barclaycard, Barclays Bank plc, the Co-operative Bank, Egg, Girobank Merchant Services, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, MasterCard, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Switch and Visa are all participating in the trial.
