POS RETAIL
Businesswire | June 08, 2023
Amazon and Affirm ,announced today that eligible U.S. merchants offering Amazon Pay can now seamlessly add Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout™ as a payment option at checkout. This brings Affirm’s pay-over-time technology, used by millions of customers on Amazon.com and the Amazon mobile app, to Amazon Pay’s simple and secure payment solution.
“We know customers want convenient and flexible payment options—whether they’re checking out on Amazon.com or using Amazon Pay,” said Omar Soudodi, director of Amazon Pay. “With Affirm on Amazon Pay, merchants can offer a pay-over-time option to their existing customers and have another way to reach new customers.”
Amazon Pay merchants, including Casper, USA Berkey Filters, and UltraSabers, have already integrated Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout within Amazon Pay, and they anticipate increases in overall sales and conversion while reaching new customers. Offering Affirm at checkout can drive overall sales — merchants using Affirm have reported 60% higher average order values when compared to other payment methods. It can also increase customer loyalty, as approximately 88% of Affirm purchases are from repeat Affirm users.
“Digital wallets are an increasingly critical part of the shopping experience and are expected to account for over half of e-commerce transactions worldwide by 2025,” said Libor Michalek, President of Affirm. “In addition, customers want more choice and flexibility when paying online. By integrating Affirm's Adaptive Checkout, thousands of merchants can offer their customers personalized payment options and increased spending power through Amazon Pay's convenient and secure checkout experience.”
Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout offers bi-weekly and monthly pay-over-time options side-by-side at checkout. Customers who click the Amazon Pay button on a participating retailer’s site at checkout can select Affirm as their payment method, and go through a quick, real-time approval process with no added cost and no impact to their credit score. Once approved, they can pay-over-time for purchases over $50 with APRs starting at 0%. Customers are shown the total cost of their purchase and will never pay more than they agree to upfront as there are no late or hidden fees.
Using Amazon Pay makes the checkout experience at online merchants just as convenient as shopping on Amazon.com. It offers customers a simple and secure way to manage payment methods and review purchases. If a customer has an Amazon account, they already have Amazon Pay and can use the same payment methods, shipping address, and email already safely stored in their Amazon.com account. And now, customers can check out using Affirm in only a few steps via the Amazon Pay button.
About Affirm
Affirm’s mission is to deliver honest financial products that improve lives. By building a new kind of payment network — one based on trust, transparency and putting people first — we empower millions of consumers to spend and save responsibly, and give thousands of businesses the tools to fuel growth. Unlike most credit cards and other pay-over-time options, we show consumers exactly what they will pay up front, never increase that amount, and never charge any late or hidden fees
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POS HARDWARE
Globenewswire | June 07, 2023
Today, Flywire Corporation (Flywire) a global payments enablement and software company, announced a new strategic partnership with DISCO, a market leader in international recruitment and career development, to optimize the cross-border education payments experience for students studying in Japan.
As the exclusive international payments partner for DISCO, Flywire integrates directly into DISCO’s e-apply system, which streamlines the application and enrollment payment experience for international students, and improves operational efficiencies for university administrators, all from its familiar interface.
Japan sets targets to supercharge inbound international student enrollment
Japan is one of the most popular countries in Asia for international students, boasting a rich culture, cuisine and language, as well as the third largest economy in the world by GDP. Data from the Japan Student Services Organization suggests that at its pre-pandemic peak in 2019, there were 312,214 international students in Japan. China, Vietnam and Nepal make up the top three sending countries.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a new initiative organized by the Japanese government aims to reignite interest among international students, with the goal to host 400,000 international students by 2033. The Japanese government’s plans include more active recruitment and improved language and career transition support, which aim to rebuild the foreign enrollment base.
Headquartered in Tokyo, DISCO is one of the leading student application solutions for the National / Public university system in Japan, providing more than 1,000 universities, colleges and vocational schools with a variety of services from student recruitment and marketing, to professional training and consulting. Given the focus from the Japanese government on international student recruitment, DISCO was looking for an international payment partner to streamline the payment process for application and enrollment fees. Specifically, DISCO clients wanted to provide students with more payment options, and were looking for ways to reduce the manual reconciliation process for administrators.
“Flywire stood out not only for its powerful payment technology and seamless integration, but also for its knowledge of the Japanese higher education sector,” said Masaro Niidome, President of DISCO. “Flywire’s innovative payment processing combined with our additional services will enhance the payment experience for our customers and their students.”
Flywire embeds into DISCO e-apply to accelerate efficiencies for students and institutions
With Flywire’s payment technology embedded directly into DISCO’s e-apply application management system, all friction is removed from the entire payment experience.
Students have a seamless, easy way to pay for their application and enrollment fees in their local currency, while enjoying low exchange rates, convenient online payment tracking, and superior customer service. Additional benefits of the Flywire integration with DISCO application system for both universities and students include:
• Easy implementation: The pre-built integration will simplify the implementation timeline and minimize technical resources typically required for integrating a payment gateway.
• Accelerate reconciliation: With real-time post backs enabled, applicants and administrators have full transparency throughout the payment process.
• Reduce short balance and overpayments: Flywire shows how much the student owes in their local currency and presents Flywire’s robust set of local payment options powered by its global payment network. Each school can also lock how much the payer sends, as well as set limits to prevent large over-payments.
“We are thrilled to partner with DISCO and become their exclusive international payments partner,” said Mina Fakhouri, VP of Sales, APAC at Flywire. “Home to many leading institutions and a top destination for international students, Japan is an important region for us, and partnering with DISCO will extend the reach of our solutions to improve the student financial experience.”
About Flywire
Flywire is a global payments enablement and software company. Flywire combines its proprietary global payments network, next-gen payments platform and vertical-specific software to deliver the most important and complex payments for clients and their customers.Flywire leverages its vertical-specific software and payments technology to deeply embed within the existing A/R workflows for its clients across the education, healthcare and travel vertical markets, as well as in key B2B industries. Flywire also integrates with leading ERP systems, so organizations can optimize the payment experience for their customers while eliminating operational challenges.
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POS RETAIL
PRnewswirre | June 06, 2023
365 Retail Markets, the global leader in unattended retail technology, today announced the launch of its latest kiosk, the MM6 for Markets. Thoughtful considerations in its design and technology offer operators more real estate to drive revenue, as well as solutions to address shrinkage and market uptime.
A countertop kiosk with a 22" touchscreen and diverse payment options, the MM6 for Markets is ideal for engaging consumers in high-touch, high-traffic micro market locations. This large format point-of-sale hardware packages the intuitive and industry-leading V5 software from 365 Retail Markets with impressive visual design.
Built for an Operator's busiest and most profitable locations, the MM6 hardware ensures more uptime with easy serviceability via its unique front-open chassis and contains a built-in battery backup to prevent service disruptions.
The MM6 for Markets will stand out in any size market, as one of the largest displays in the industry. Packaged in a sleek aesthetic, an intuitive user interface (UI) and optimized self-checkout peripherals guide consumers through a quick transaction, improving throughput. Complete with tap, cashless, cash funding, and 365 Global Market Account payment options ensure no sale is missed.
A large vibrant display also provides generous real estate to influence product sales using custom promotions. Food service operators can turn unused screen space into a revenue generating opportunity. Programmatic advertising services, like Advana from 365, connect big brands with select market kiosks where they want to target their offers.
With shrink rates a concern in large markets, the MM6 helps tighten loss prevention. An ultra-wide camera lens captures images within a 185-degree field of view for more detailed back-office reporting. Internal speakers also ensure consumers hear voice commands to return canceled items.
"As the retail world continues to transition to self-service, our product design adapts to consumer and operator expectations, the MM6 is the latest example of that adaptation," said Joe Hessling, 365 Retail Markets Chief Executive Officer. "The MM6 is a direct result of 365's product team responding to customer feedback on consumer experience, product maintenance and market security."
Initially launched as part of 365's dining solution suite, the MM6 was met with great industry reception as winner of an Automatic Merchandiser 2023 Readers' Choice New Product of the Year award. Previewed at last month's 2023 NAMA show, the MM6 for Markets also earned an overflow of industry support.
The MM6 for Markets is immediately available for purchase in the US and is slated for launch in Canada later this summer. To learn more, contact a 365 Retail Markets Account Services representative or visit 365retailmarkets.com/mm6-micro-markets/.
About 365 Retail Markets
365 Retail Markets is the global leader in unattended retail technology. Founded in 2008, 365 provides a full suite of best-in-class, self-service technologies for food service operators including end-to-end integrated SaaS software, payment processing and point of-sale hardware. Today, the company's technology solutions autonomously power food retail spaces at corporate offices, manufacturing and distribution facilities, and more, in order to provide compelling foodservice options for consumers. 365's technology solutions include a growing suite of frictionless smart-stores, micro markets, vending, catering, and dining point-of-sale options to meet the expanding needs of its customers. 365 continuously pioneers innovation in the industry with superior technology, strategic partnerships and ultimate flexibility in customization and branding.
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