Wincor Nixdorf has worked with Commonwealth Bank of Australia to implement a product that the company says will significantly improve electronic payments in the Australian market, according to a company press release.

The product, a payment tablet called Albert, was jointly developed by Wincor Nixdorf, Commonwealth Bank, and design company Ideo. Following the market launch in Australia on March 31, the Android-based payment terminal will be made available to customers in other markets as well, the company said.



Albert offers threefold benefits, Wincor said: First, retailers from different industries can operate precisely those POS applications they need for their business on the mobile device.

Secondly, the device can handle standard PCI-compliant payment methods including EMV chip and PIN, swipe and sign, and NFC communication.

Thirdly, Albert is connected to an app store from which retailers can download apps tailored to their business.





Albert operates on the Android based software platform connected to the Commonwealth Bank Pi Business Network and app store — App bank. Australian companies from the hospitality, nonfood retailing and gas station sectors have already piloted Albert and its applications; this phase also included the development of new apps to meet the piloting companies' specific requirements.

With Albert, merchants gain options that include:

• e-mailing receipts and invoices;
• allowing customers to open accounts they can pay off later;
• recording and tracking daily, weekly and yearly payments; and
• collecting useful business analytics and insights.





"[A]s Australians embrace new technology ... there is a growing need for a more powerful, open platform which can adapt to changing customer needs, and provide real-time analytics and business insights," said Gary Roach, Commonwealth Bank managing director for payments and cash management services. "Albert’s potential is limitless and is set to revolutionize the point of sale experience. Albert has the potential to dramatically shift the way businesses take payments, offering merchants the ability to completely customize the customer experience from start to finish."



Wincor Nixdorf will make its Aevi Marketplace available for future customer projects on the basis of the PI business network experience gained from the CBA project.

The open marketplace platform is available to software developers for the creation of apps based on a software development kit. These apps will be validated by Wincor Nixdorf.

Retailers connected to the B2B app store can download business apps to suit their needs. These range from applications for splitting restaurant bills to merchandise management solutions to financial apps such as mini cash overdrafts.