[Editor Note] Thanks to Steve Taylor of Taylor Stands for the following information.
Recently Walmart had a ruling in California go against it in the case of improper ADA access for its self-checkout terminals. Here is part of the argument which settled the case. Walmart settled the case but we of course were interested in why.
POS terminals allow customers to input sensitive and private information in a secure manner such as their Personal Information Number (PIN); submit debit or credit card data by swiping a payment card; verify, authorize or cancel a transaction; submit a signature; provide the consumer with the option to select to receive cash-back from their account; select an amount of cash back to be provided; and perform other affiliated tasks which involve inputting, correcting, cancelling or entering information that is personal or affects access to personal information and finances.
As a result of the height and positioning of POS terminals at typical stores, -to successfully complete a transaction, many customers in wheelchairs and scooters are forced to struggle with inaccessible equipment during the purchase/check-out process.
Customers with disabilities must stretch and strain just to try and see the information displayed on these screens and enter the necessary PIN or sign for a credit card transaction. Often, customers with disabilities cannot see all the information that is displayed. At times, customers with disabilities cannot enter their PIN or sign their signatures without great difficulty if at all. Conducting debit and credit card transactions requires many of these customers to request assistance from cashiers to input information
and/or provide signatures on their behalf.
Some customers with disabilities who do not wish to reveal private information to cashiers or have cashiers sign on their behalf are completely precluded from using the POS terminals at checkout stands at stores. These customers are required to either use cash, which they may not wish to do for a variety of reasons, or leave the store without purchasing any items.
Title III prohibits public accommodations from excluding an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities on the basis of a disability or disabilities of such individual or class, from participating in or benefiting from the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or
accommodations of the entity or otherwise discriminating against a person on the basis of disability. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(i). LINK)
Title III prohibits public accommodations from affording an individual or class of individuals with a disability, on the basis of a disability or disabilities of such individual or class, with the opportunity to participate in or benefit from a good, service, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation that is not equal to that afforded other individuals. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(ii). LINK)
Title III prohibits public accommodations from providing an individual or class of individuals, on the basis of a disability or disabilities of such individual or class, with a good, service, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation that is different or separate from that provided to other individuals. 42 U.S.C. §12182(b)(1)(A)(iii). LINK)
Title III provides that goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations shall be afforded to an individual with a disability in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the individual. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(l)(B). LINK)
Title III provides that an individual with a disability shall not be denied the opportunity to participate in such programs or activities that are not separate or different. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(C). LINK)
Title III defines discrimination to include the failure of a public accommodation to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, when such modifications are necessary to afford such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations to individuals with disabilities; to take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied
services, segregated or otherwise treated differently that other individuals because of the absences of auxiliary aids and services; and to remove architectural barriers that are structural in nature, in existing facilities where such removal is readily achievable. 42 U.S.C. §12182(b)(2)(A)(ii)-(iv). LINK)
Title III further defines discrimination as a public accommodation’s failure to design and construct
facilities that are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities (later than 30 months
after July 26, 1990) and, with respect to a facility or part thereof that is altered by, on behalf of, or for the use of an establishment in a manner that affects or could affect the usability of the facility or part thereof, a failure to make alterations in such a manner that, to the maximum extent feasible the altered portions of the facility are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. 42 U.S.C. § 12183(a)(1)-(2). LINK)
A place of public accommodation. See 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(E). Link)
Merchants who violate Title III of the ADA by failing to make reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, or procedures to ensure that POS terminals are accessible to customers with mobility disabilities can face fines and an Accessibility TITLE III lawsuit.
Merchants who violate Title III of the ADA by failing to remove barriers to its POS terminals should have removal of such barriers to become readily achievable. A person who sues is likely entitled to injunctive relief. 42 U.S.C. § 12888. LINK)
IF IN CALIFORNIA:
A permanent injunction pursuant to the ADA and the Unruh Act requiring a merchant to institute and implement policies and procedures that ensure that individuals in wheelchairs or scooters have on discriminatory, full and equal independent access to POS terminals so that they may use credit or debit cards to conduct non-cash transactions when purchasing retail goods.
Bitcoin atm kiosk information systems example unit deployed for Bitstop
Michael Tomlinson has shown a knack over his career in the self-service industry for being at the center of “the next big thing” at just the right time. And if that history is any indication, he’s done it again.
In 1994, right out of college, Tomlinson joined coin-counting kiosk company Coinstar. At the time, the company had just five machines and a dozen or so employees. People he told about the company thought the idea of counting peoples’ coins for a fee was crazy. Today, Coinstar boasts more than 20,000 kiosks and processes 43 billion coins a year.
Tomlinson left Coinstar in 2010, spending a few years getting reacquainted with his family. Following a stint with a company in the automated retail space, in November 2020 took a position as Chief Revenue Officer with Las Vegas-based digital currency kiosk maker CoinCloud. And considering market trends, Tomlinson may have entered the segment just as it’s about to explode.
“I started interviewing my closest confidants to ask them what they thought of the space,” Tomlinson said. “A lot of the responses I got were similar to my early days at Coinstar where people thought I was nuts to even consider it, but I realized that the Bitcoin space was far greater than anybody could imagine.”
Founded in 2014, CoinCloud recently deployed its 1,250th machine, with 50 installations during the last week of 2020 alone. The company says 61% of the two-way digital currency ATMs in the United States are operated by CoinCloud.
“Our machines meet a critical consumer need because they grant anyone an instant, trusted gateway to the digital economy,” said CoinCloud CEO Chris McAlary in a release announcing the deployment.
“We make the intangible tangible, converting digital currency to physical currency and vice versa on-demand,” McAlary said. “Previously, digital currency users would have to meet in person to trade Bitcoin for cash. Coin Cloud’s integration of DCMs with digital wallets is becoming the cash machines of the 21st century. They are being embraced and taking over at an ever-increasing rate.”
No longer just for assassins
Although there are thousands of digital currencies in use today, the most popular by far is Bitcoin. Other currencies are dubbed “altcoins.” It’s impossible to put an accurate value on the market capitalization of digital currencies, in part because of constant fluctuations, but Bitcoin is estimated to have a current market cap in the vicinity of $600 billion. That’s up from zero at its 2009 origins and just $1.5 billion in 2013. Another popular digital currency, Ethereum, is estimated to have a market cap of more than $112 billion.
Following a few early test transactions, Bitcoin found a home as the currency of choice for black market websites. Silk Road, a site on the dark web known primarily for selling drugs, only accepted bitcoins as payment before being shut down by the FBI in 2013. Other dark web sites purported to offer the services of a hitman in exchange for Bitcoin, although most of those operations turned out to be scams.
Over the past few years, though, more and more traditional merchants have been accepting bitcoins and other digital currencies as payment, including AT&T, Burger King, KFC and Virgin Galactic. Shoppers can also indirectly pay for purchases on Amazon.com via Purse.io. Places where people can purchase bitcoins include PayPal, which recently announced that users will soon be able to purchase that and other digital currencies. And digital currency exchange company Gemini, which acquired financial services startup Blockrize, plans to offer a credit card that offers Bitcoin rewards based on purchases. Bitcoin is now the world’s sixth-largest currency by circulation.
“Today Bitcoin has gotten to a place where institutional investors, banks, and family offices are legitimately pondering involvement as a defense against currency devaluation,” wrote Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius Network, in commentary emailed to CBS Marketwatch. “This isn’t a gold rush anymore, it’s a good investment.”
Bitcoin grew in value by more than 300% in 2020, approaching $30,000, with one financial industry insider predicting it could top $300,000 by the end of 2021.
“The whole existence of Bitcoin has been characterized by unthinkable rallies followed by painful corrections, the type of pattern that sustains a long term trend,” Tom Fitzpatrick, Citibank’s global head of CitiFX Technicals, wrote in a note to institutional clients that was later leaked on Twitter. “Time will tell if we end up seeing such lofty levels but the backdrop and the price action we are looking at clearly suggest the potential for a major move higher nonetheless in the next 12-24 months.”
Simplifying the Bitcoin buy/sell process
At their core, digital currency kiosks, more commonly referred to as Bitcoin kiosks, operate like traditional ATMs, with one major difference. Instead of allowing users to deposit and withdraw money from their bank accounts, they allow users to conduct transactions in digital currencies.
And like traditional ATMs, they’re finding homes in the same places that host other types of self-service devices: service stations, convenience stores and other outlets seeking to increase foot traffic and revenue.
“Millennials are one of the most common customers who transact with cryptocurrency,” said Marc Grens, co-founder & president of Chicago-based Bitcoin ATM provider DigitalMint.
“If a store has a particular demographic of regular customers that often does not include people between the ages of 18 and 40, it’s worth growing and expanding that customer base by offering an innovative and modern service,” Grens said. “Without much effort, retailers get additional passive income from these cryptocurrency transactions completed in-store.”
Bitcoin kiosks address one of the main hurdles affecting the adoption of digital currencies: Converting cash to bitcoins, and more importantly, converting bitcoins to cash. Until recently, converting cash to a digital currency and vice versa involved using an online exchange. The downside of that method was that some transactions, particularly the conversion of bitcoins to cash, often involved a wait of several days to receive your funds. Also, most of these exchanges operated without regulatory oversight, meaning a consumer had little recourse if the site turned out to be fraudulent.
A Bitcoin ATM allows someone to buy bitcoins or other digital currencies by using cash or debit cards, and in some cases sell them for cash. To date, about 70% of Bitcoin ATMs around the world and 76% of those in the United States are one-way, meaning they’re used strictly for buying digital currencies.
Although the reports purporting to estimate the size of the market for digital currency probably aren’t worth the electricity it takes to post them online, one such report predicts that the global Bitcoin ATM market will top $542.5 million by 2027, up from just $18.4 million in 2019. That equates to a compound annual growth rate of 52.7%. Factors fueling growth include fluctuations in monetary regulations and increasing fund transfers in developing economies, although government regulations that prohibit the usage of digital currencies in various countries are expected to restrain growth.
“The industry has grown over 100% each year the last 5 years,” said Drew Carey, CEO and co-founder of Miami-based Bitcoin ATM maker Bitstop. “This trend will probably continue again for the next 2-4 years as the demand for Bitcoin continues to increase. The total number of Bitcoin ATMs installed worldwide will probably reach 100,000 by or before 2025.”
The two-way segment is expected to grow faster than the segment as a whole as Bitcoin becomes more mainstream. North America is expected to hold a considerable share of the market thanks to fewer legal barriers and the presence of software & hardware providers and integrators.
Factors expected to drive the growth of digital currencies over the next few years include concerns about the value of traditional currencies, especially in light of deficit spending thanks to stimulus efforts in the wake of COVID-19. Also, built into the computer code behind Bitcoin are hard limits on the total number that can ever come into circulation. Of the 21 million that can ever become available, there are already 18.5 million bitcoins in circulation. That’s about 88.4% of the total supply.
In addition, those in the Bitcoin ATM industry see it as a way to provide access to financial tools to those unbanked or underbanked consumers, or those who lack access to traditional banking services. A 2019 report by the U.S. Federal Reserve found that six percent of adults do not have a checking, savings, or money market account, while 16 percent of adults are “underbanked,” meaning they have a bank account but also used an alternative financial service product. Bitcoin ATMs might also be a way to send money to other countries without the high fees typically charged by traditional money-transfer outfits.
“It is truly about allowing consumers that are struggling to get even into the financial segment,” Tomlinson said. “There are 55 million people that are unbanked or underbanked in this country, and there are 47 million immigrants who have familiarity with the virtual currency space. And in many ways, this whole group is ahead of it.”
Because Bitcoin exists only in the virtual world, owners need a way to be able to store and access their holdings. In many cases, that happens via a software program known as a bitcoin wallet.
A bitcoin wallet is comparable to a physical wallet, but instead of storing physical currency it stores information about a person’s bitcoin holdings, including the secure private key used to access Bitcoin addresses and conduct transactions. Bitcoin wallets can exist either as desktop, mobile or web apps, or as physical hardware.
And like a physical wallet, losing access to your bitcoin wallet can lead to a loss of the bitcoins themselves.
Consider, for example, the case of San Francisco resident Stefan Thomas, who lost the password to the secure thumb drive which held 7,002 bitcoin currently worth about $220 million. The device gives users 10 attempts to enter the correct password before it encrypts its contents. Thomas has already used 8 of those attempts.
In an interview with KGO-TV, Thomas said he had made peace with the loss
“It was actually a really big milestone in my life where, like, I sort of realized how I was going to define my self-worth going forward,” Thomas told the station. “It wasn’t going to be about how much money I have in my bank account.”
Or British man James Howells, who accidentally threw out a laptop hard drive storing 7,500 bitcoins while clearing out his home in 2013. At today’s prices, those bitcoins would be worth around $280 million. Howells has offered the town managing the landfill close to $75 million if he is allowed to excavate the landfill and recovers the drive. To date the town has rejected the offer, citing environmental concerns.
A recent Entrepreneur.com article estimates that 20% of the 18.5 million bitcoins in circulation are unreachable because of lost wallets. Jimmy Nguyen, president of the Bitcoin Association, argues that mechanisms need to be put in place to aid people in recovering their bitcoin holdings bitcoin in cases of lost passwords and similar issues. Current methods of storing bitcoins are hampering its adoption, he said, comparing digital wallets to house keys. Losing your house keys doesn’t mean you’ve lost access to your house forever.
“There is an inconsistency, if not downright hypocrisy – among the bitcoin supporters because they want to advance this narrative that you must have the private keys for the coins to be yours,” Nguyen told Business Insider. “If they want the value of the coin to grow because it’s growing in usage, then you have to adopt a much more open and user-friendly approach to bitcoin.”
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More Bitcoin ATM and Bitcoin Kiosk Information
Get some specifics
An easy thing to do to send an email to Joe Sawicki at Kiosk Information Systems (jsawicki at kiosk dot com) if interested in Bitcoin Kiosk options. KIOSK has been doing quite a few and has the experience. Kiosk Innovations (www.kioskinnovations.com) is another Association member who has done numerous Bitcoin.
Philadelphia just became the first large city in the nation to ban cashless businesses in the city, in part to protect people like some construction workers who don’t have a bank or credit card.
Nearly 13 percent of Philadelphia’s population — close to 200,000 people — are unbanked, according to federal banking data. That’s more than double the regional average.
Excerpt: The following is except from news article from PBS on Philadephia deciding to ban “cashless” stores.
The Unbanked and Underbanked in Philadelphia
Last fall, a veteran lawmaker in PA introduced a bill outlawing cashless businesses — shops and restaurants where customers can only pay with credit and debit cards.
The Mayor of Philadelphia signed it into law last week, making Philadelphia the first big city in the country to ban cash-free stores. Beginning July 1.
The PA lawmaker thought it was discriminatory for businesses to turn away low-income residents who don’t have bank accounts, a population often referred to as the “unbanked” or the “underbanked.”
2017 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
The FDIC is committed to expanding Americans’ access to safe, secure, and affordable banking services. The FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households is one contribution to this end.
To assess the inclusiveness of the banking system, and in partial response to a statutory mandate, the FDIC has conducted the survey biennially since 2009.1 The most recent survey was administered in June 2017 in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, collecting responses from more than 35,000 households. The survey provides estimates of the proportion of U.S. households that do not have an account at an insured institution, and the proportion that have an account but obtained (nonbank) alternative financial services in the past 12 months. The survey also provides insights that may inform efforts to better meet the needs of these consumers within the banking system.
Estimates from the 2017 survey indicate that 6.5 percent of households in the United States were unbanked in 2017. This proportion represents approximately 8.4 million households. Some other estimates put that number as high as 50 million. An additional 18.7 percent of U.S. households (24.2 million) were underbanked, meaning that the household had a checking or savings account but also obtained financial products and services outside of the banking system.
The 2017 survey examines a number of additional topics, including the methods that banked households used to access accounts, bank branch visits, use of prepaid cards, use of alternative financial services, saving for unexpected expenses or emergencies, use of credit, and the methods that households used to conduct financial transactions in a typical month.
See economicinclusion.gov for survey findings, the ability to generate custom tables and charts using 2017 and earlier years of survey data, and data downloads and documentation.
The 2017 survey report, executive summary, and other related materials are linked below. (All items are PDF files. See PDF Help for assistance.)
An interview with old friend and workmate John Bryant. Back when I lived in Minnesota. He has seen a lot over the years and has “survived” much like me (Craig). Big wins and big losses. It’s like winning your first deal with Walmart and two years later you realize you didn’t make much money and “survived Walmart”. Every one does it at least once.
Anyway, I have my bias so instead of writing my opinions and best guesses it seems much more educational to get a different viewpoint on cash, and from someone who spends a good chunk of the time on cash. A viewpoint from Europe and Dimana with SelfPay is included as well. So without further ado I give you,
Deal Maker • Business Development Generalist. Driving growth by forging partnerships. ATMs, Kiosks, iOT in Casino Gaming, Retail, Manufacturing. Overcoming obstacles, and bringing deals to fruition. Prior Lake, MN
Background includes strategic organizational consulting, product development and operational execution; growing and directing both private and publicly traded financial technology companies. 30 year career driving growth through corporate finance and top line revenue growth mergers and acquisitions. A focused knowledge of payments & technology trends in retail, commercial and tribal casino gaming. Incubation of start up technology businesses. Turnaround and capital funding services.
How is the ATM industry in the US faring these days John. Who are the big players?
The industry, as a whole, has been in a “status quo” mode meaning the market is mature. OEMs focus on maintaining strong relationships with existing customers and leveraging those relationships to secure repeat business. Long term loyalty with OEMs such as Triton, Genmega and Hyosung, that are adept at adapting their hardware designs to meet the specific needs of emerging markets IMHO still very strong.
McDonald’s Cash Kiosk in MSP airport and latest McD upgrade circa 2024. Not only McDonalds but rumor is Burger King is looking hard at cash.
Retail ATMs needing EPP, OS and ADA adjustments and upgrades remain the big points of service and revenue for the ISO and VAR.
I’ve worked with several Fintech firms that are deep into continuously developing products to
stay ahead of the latest demands for security and regulatory compliance.
I’m currently assisting one Vegas gaming related firm on external security boards with geolocation tech that alert when there is tampering and theft.
While the manufacturers and their software partners continue to seek the next “killer app” to potentially drive more wholesale ATM replacement (recycling, ITMs, etc…) the vast majority of users simply want fast access to cash.
Cardtronics, Payment Alliance International, Cord Financial, and Paramount Management Group lead the pack
How much market share do the ISOs hold these days in your best guess
50% are ISO owned and 50% are bank-owned
How much market share do the ISOs hold these days in your best guess
50%are ISO owned and 50% are bank-owned
Have the banks been investing in tech and if so what? Digital signage?
There has been increased branch automation with Interactive Teller Machines (ITM) extending banking hours and improving efficiencies by handling more complex transactions. Communication at the ITM between the bank customers via video conferencing direct to a main bank teller. Hyosung and Atleos machines have proven to be very robust with note acceptors and recyclers handling more complex transactions like account opening. Digital signage is not within my sphere, but I see touch points and what appear to be strategies for engagement and marketing to customers entering my local Wings Credit Union.
There was a big rise in Bitcoin ATMs a few years back. Any progress there?
I’m familiar with Bitcoin Depot as friends and former associates.
Cash recycler from Crane?
Bitcoin Depot is deploying mostly Genmega Universal Kiosks and due to acquisition of Cole Kepro assets they did some buyout of Bitcoin of America and CoinCloud hardware. Bitcoin Depot has over 10k machines in grocery retail and convenience stores. They remain in growth mode and expect to deploy another several hundred machines before the end of Q4/24. Other companies have unfortunately had struggles with AML issues and other regulatory compliance issues and Bitcoin Depot is looking to acquire the majority of these failed projects.
Any comment on Asia, South America, Middle East and Europe?
What I know from contract manufacturing in Taiwan and business travels to the other continents/countries is that’s it’s a mixed landscape out there. Digital payment methods (e.g., mobile wallets, credit/debit cards) are increasingly popular, in China, South Korea, and Japan influenced by economies, technology infrastructure, and government policies.
I do now that in the International markets where “tap & go” has been adopted, eliminating the need for PIN or signature credit under $100, the usage of cash at bistros, cafes, and the espresso house is prevalent. It’s now mostly debit & credit. The broad adoption of NFC means that the younger generation don’t even carry cards anymore – it’s all done on their phones. The use of cash and ATMs varies widely across Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Europe, impacted by economic, cultural, and technological factors. Cash will remain dominant in areas with limited digital infrastructure and ATM usage will continue to decline in those tech-savvy areas due with widespread digital infrastructure.
In some areas, inflation and economic instability make cash more practical for daily transactions.
Gulf countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are pushing for cashless economies with advanced banking and digital payment infrastructure, but in contrast, cash is still crucial in less affluent or rural areas.
For many reasons, too large to guess on, including size and complexity, the U.S. is a decade behind the rest of the world. Magnetic stripe fallback is still ubiquitous. As more NFC is adopted here in the US, the use of ATMs and cash will continue to fall, although I don’t see an “all digital” future here in the US anytime soon.
What/where does cash get used for?
The short answer is purchases under $60 (bars & coffee shops), gifts and personal usage. As a store of value ($100 bills mostly).
Many people still prefer or rely on cash for a variety of reasons.
Do you pay for services like haircuts, lawn mowing, housecleaning with digital payment methods? Not likely. Many cash users choose simplicity and many elderly may prefer not to participate in the digital world.
Think about the Crowdstrike debacle. What if there was a larger system failure of crashed networks?
Contactless payments surged hard during the pandemic, further pushing the trend of carrying less or no cash, but it obviously remains a crucial component of everyday life for the unbanked and people in rural areas that need more accessibility.
Editor Note: Generally I always use cash with small business to escape the Visa/MC equation [see who came out ahead in last legislation]. Notably if I am in a chain restaurant I am more likely to use a standard credit card.
Alimony and DMV seem to be last bastions of cash. Venmo and others seem to be eating into the under/non banked segment cash always points at. Comments?
Venmo and other digital wallets do provide some solutions for the unbanked and underbanked populations, but they don’t fully solve the problem. Here’s a breakdown of how they impact these groups:
Venmo and similar services can be more accessible if individuals have smartphones and internet access. They offer a way to receive, hold, and transfer funds without a traditional bank account, which can be highly beneficial.
Not everyone in the unbanked population has consistent access to smartphones or reliable internet, limiting their usability.
I use Cash App for cash back and loyalty discounts. Many of these apps will mitigate the challenges faced by the unbanked and underbanked, but they don’t entirely solve financial access problems.
Any prognosis on marijuana vending and cash?
MJ is still primarily an “all cash” business from seed to sale. I worked some with Fintech/ATM groups that needed approved cannabis-friendly bank sponsorship agreements that took time in discovery and negotiations. They also needed $100M + in vault cash agreements to deploy ATMs that needed to be serviced by cash in transit armored cars. One particular California-based Fintech found workarounds by developing POS hardware on a Linux-based platform with open APIs. They are coding the POS transaction as an ATM transaction which is essentially illegal, but overall overlooked by the Networks. The networks often turn the other cheek on these types of vice transactions as they are highly profitable and maybe not as risky as previously predicted. MasterCard is however announcing and attempting to curtail some activity by shutting down many of the reverse ATM products i
What about vending, food dispense?
Vending machines and food dispensing systems have evolved, adapting to modern payment methods.
Most modern vending machines accept card payments, particularly contactless transactions.
Systems like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay are increasingly supported at vending machines.
Scanning a QR code to make a payment via a mobile app is on the horizon, but vending machines still accept coins and bills to cater to a broader audience.
So is cash on the rise in use? Tell me that I am dismissing it too quick.
The usage of cash is generally flattening out.
Definitely not on the rise in usage over digital, but cash is still a necessity for a multitude of reasons. As NFC is adopted on a broader scale by those that choose those methods of usage at the POS, the use of ATMs and cash will continue to fall, although I don’t see an “all digital” future here.
Digital Wallets, NFC cards and pay-by- phone tech is unmatched by cash transactions. It’s quick, more convenient and the younger generations were the early adopters that preferred not to be tied to the cash ecosystem.
Interesting that some foreign governments are actively promoting cashless economies to reduce corruption, improve tax collection, and enhance transparency.
And Another Viewpoint from a Cash Handling Kiosk Manufacturer, SelfPay out of Romania
dimana selfpay
Cash is big for us too, this is what our business is about, giving the clients the freedom of payment options – in Romania, we operate 11 000 kiosks for payment of 300+ services, predominantly cash (www.selfpay.com). People want to control their spending, to have privacy and choice of payment, this is what our self-service delivers.
Gambling is a huge industry in Romania, monthly we process cca 26 Mio Euro top-ups of in e-money which are in general used in the gambling and gaming industry. If fact SelfPay enables about 70-80% of the e-money transactions. Last year we have processed 250 Mio Euro in e-money transactions, this year we expect to reach 300 Mio. In our opinion self-service payments kiosks have a remarkable potential for any country.
In Europe Bitcoin and any crypto is dealt mostly on-line, as this assures compliance/KYC/AML. It is expected the MICA legislation to regulate the industry. The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) institutes uniform EU market rules for crypto-assets. The regulation covers crypto-assets that are not currently regulated by existing financial services legislation. This will allow the regulation bodies to have clear requirements towards the market players.
About Dimana
As a Director at SelfPay am contributing the company growth by creating and managing partners relationship for the International development of the company, as well as for the mobile application SelfPay Now.
Market Growth: Over 217,000 self-checkout devices were delivered worldwide last year, an increase of 17,000 from the previous year.
Top Suppliers: NCR Voyix remains the largest supplier, though its market share has decreased. Diebold Nixdorf has overtaken Toshiba to become the second largest supplier.
Major Clients: Diebold Nixdorf has secured major clients like Aldi Süd and Rossmann, while 4POS has gained significant market share with clients like Lidl and Rewe Group.
Regional Leaders: Chinese suppliers HiStone and CCL Technology maintain a strong presence, with HiStone leading in its home market.
There are all sorts of situations where a company needs to accept regular payments from their customers. Utility payments, cellphone bills and store credit cards are just a few of the situations where customers make regular payments.
And if one thinks that the ability for those organizations to accept payments via their website, mobile or by mail has eliminated the need for other payment options, they’d be mistaken. Some example payments include Alimony, Rent payments, Healthcare co-pays, mobile phone payments, cable TV bills, money transfers, tuition payments, and correctional facility services.
The Franklin Bill Payment Kiosk from Olea is designed to simplify cash transactions. Standard options include a high-capacity bill acceptor, bill dispenser, coin dispenser, credit card terminal, and receipt printer
Others include cell phone top-ups, long distance, and digital phone cards for International calls. There are international payment options available as well, especially for Latin Amerian countries like Mexico, where for example the customer can pay his mother’s Telmex bill in California.
And how these payments are made are important to note. As much as Check21 did to simply checks, that is still a major form of payment depending on the venue. You have cash payment terminals running $5000 a day in some locations. And then there is a credit card and mobile.
Unbanked and Underbanked Statistics
According to a recent survey conducted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, more than 8.4 million households in the United States are unbanked, meaning they don’t have access to a checking or savings account. Other data points to at least 50 million unbanked. Another 24.2 million households are underbanked, with access to a checking or savings account but also making use of financial products and services outside of the banking system. Together, more than a fourth of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked.
There are specific geographic and demographic data outlining these groups. Ethnic and cultural factors play into it with some cultures preferring cash.
Having a reduced set of payment options for what can be a very large customer set doesn’t help retain and create more customers. The end result of adding bill payment options ultimately increases the cash flow for companies and expands their consumer base.
Philadelphia just became the first large city in the nation to ban cashless businesses in the city, in part to protect people like construction workers who don’t have a bank or credit card.
In addition, a significant portion of the population, primarily lower-income and younger people, still prefers to conduct their business in cash. Maybe they don’t trust the banking system. Maybe they tend to pay bills closer to their due date and don’t want to risk a late payment or service cutoff. A personal US Mail check or money order may be delayed. Maybe they want to wait till the last moment during the “last chance” before penalty phase. It could be a language. Add to that the 11 percent of U.S. adults who don’t use the Internet, according to a Pew Research study, and it’s clear there will always there will always be a need to provide payment options to customers.
That’s where a bill pay kiosk comes into play.
The benefits of adding a bill pay kiosk to an organization’s payment options are many. For the customer, those include few service disruptions, improved credit and fewer reconnect and/or late payment fees. The kiosks in a way become the financial center or “bank” for the underserved, which they know the bank has ignored them. For the organization, they include more timely payments, fewer trips by a technician to reconnect service that was cut off, lower staffing needs at the payment center, fewer trips to payday loan, check cashing centers where they used to go before the kiosk, and overall much improved customer satisfaction. That translates to higher retention of existing customers and a higher acquisition rate of new customers.
Still, accepting payments by kiosk isn’t just a matter of setting up a device in the headquarters lobby and hoping for the best. Here are a few considerations to take into account when deploying a bill pay kiosk.
Bill Pay Machines Make it easy
27 percent of U.S. households do not have regular access to banks and other mainstream financial services.
That’s 90.6 million financially marginalized people who are further penalized, in terms of time and money, by having to rely on alternate financial services (AFS), which charge fees for transactions that are often free to customers of banks, credit unions and other federally insured institutions. Despite the financial recovery since the Great Recession and the growth of online financial services, the number of households with little or no access to bank accounts has remained stubbornly steady since 2009, when the FDIC began collecting statistics on the phenomenon.
Theresa Schmall, a manager at CFSI, points out that “solutions using digital and mobile platforms can provide expanded access” for the unbanked. It may also remove the presumption of exclusivity that prevents many unbanked and underbanked households from approaching mainstream financial services — while also eliminating those seemingly endless lines.
July 2018 article by OZY
By a large margin, those people who don’t use the Internet are 65 or older. Some of the main reasons, they say, are that it’s too difficult and they believe they’re too old to learn. If the kiosk application is too difficult to use it’ll be the same reason they give for avoiding it.
Incorporate large fonts and a logical payment process for the interface to make the kiosk easy on the eyes and the brain. Incorporate a simple way to start the process over if the user makes a mistake. It won’t hurt to have a staff member nearby during the first few weeks after initial rollout to assist first-time users. Kiosk technology also makes it easy to incorporate a variety of languages; make sure you include those options, especially if the unit will be located in a culturally diverse area. Users will appreciate it.
Publicize the option
Include marketing materials about the new bill pay kiosks with bills, in print ads, on TV commercials, and on your website. Also have office staff inform customers who come in to pay their bills about the devices, and offer to guide them through the payment process.
Add additional locations
One of the beauties of kiosk technology is that it allows organizations to expand their footprint without the capital costs of a brick-and-mortar location. In addition, we now live in a world where people expect to be able to conduct business at any hour of the day.
One way to increase the value of bill pay kiosks is to place them in areas where customers can access them at any time of the day or night, in a place that’s convenient for them. Along with placing a kiosk in the lobby of the central office, consider placing units in grocery stores or other 24-hour locations. This would be especially important when a significant number of customers live in rural locations.
Making sure that the right biller is available in the right geographic area is important. Utilities get the biggest use, and they’re the “magnet” effect if you are pulling the customers into paying their utility bills. Once the customer is there, they can see an array of options for paying their cable, wireless phone, and stored value cards like VISA & MC prepaid cards
Make it reliable and secure
Nothing will frustrate customers more than a kiosk that’s out of order when they need to pay a bill. If it happens more than once, you’ve likely lost them as kiosk customers forever. Invest in a solution that incorporates quality, reliable hardware.
One the same note, make sure the kiosk hardware and software is secure from tampering. The last thing a business needs is the expense and negative publicity that accompanies a data breach.
Partner with an expert
Partnering with an experienced vendor saves you the headaches of learning these lessons on your own. Work with someone that has existing projects and can offer consulting and advice on how to make your project a success. Olea Kiosks stands ready to help.
Amazon VR kiosk announced in 10 shopping malls to promote its upcoming Prime Day shopping event. See the Amazon VR experience for yourself. Prepare to be impressed.
Amazon VR Kiosk notes — We keep looking for VR kiosk interations for customers especially “trial balloons” and not surprising that Amazon has opted for some extra juice to spur Prime Day. Imagine Prime Day taking on same significance as Thanksgiving or Christmas. With over 50% of ecommerce shopping and buying happening on Amazon, its up to the other retailers like Target and Walmart to react.
Excerpt: Rather than taking the obvious retail angle and depositing you in a computer-generated facsimile of a brick-and-mortar space, Amazon VR kiosk instead transports the shopper into a city filled with Prime Day products — beginning with the fun of a hot air balloon ride. Viewed through an Oculus Rift with full head tracking, the ride lets the shopper briefly see some of the brands and promotions Amazon is featuring before landing in a serene park.
Coinstar kiosk and Amazon Partner in cash reload sites 2018.
BELLEVUE, Wash.May 15, 2018/PRNewswire/ — Coinstar announced today that customers can now add cash to their Amazon Balance by using Amazon Cash at select Coinstar® kiosks across the country.
“We’re excited to team up with Amazon and give shoppers an easy and convenient way to add cash to their Amazon Balance,” said Jim Gaherity, CEO of Coinstar, LLC. “Coinstar is proud to enable Amazon Cash at Coinstar kiosks for cash-preferring customers, who can now enjoy the same benefits of shopping online as any other customer. Best of all, there are no fees to use the service.”
Coinstar Amazon Cash Reload
Amazon customers wishing to spend their cash on Amazon via Coinstar only need to associate their phone number to their Amazon account, which they can do at www.amazon.com/cash. To begin a transaction at Coinstar cash-accepting kiosks, the customer selects “Cash Services,” and then “Amazon Cash.” Next, the customer enters their phone number and inserts bills into the cash acceptor on the kiosk totaling any amount between $5 and $500. An Amazon.com Gift Card is automatically purchased and claimed to the customer’s Amazon Balance and is available for immediate use for eligible items on Amazon.com or select affiliated properties. There is no fee to use this service at Coinstar kiosks.
Coinstar kiosks are conveniently located in high-traffic retail locations, including grocery stores and mass merchants. Coinstar expects to have approximately 5,000 kiosks enabled by the end of the year to accept cash for Amazon Cash customers, and the rollout begins today at select grocery stores in the northeast. To find a Coinstar cash-accepting kiosk with Amazon Cash functionality, customers may visit: coinstar.com/amazoncash. For additional details on Amazon Cash, including full terms and conditions, customers may visit: amazon.com/cash.
About Coinstar, LLC
Based in Bellevue, Wash., Coinstar owns and operates the largest fully automated, multi-national network of self-service coin-counting kiosks. With nearly 20,000 kiosk locations, Coinstar provides convenient and reliable coin counting services at mass merchants, grocery and drug stores and financial institutions. Consumer solutions include coin-to-cash, coin-to-eGift card and charity donation options. For kiosk locations and information, visit www.coinstar.com.
SOURCE Coinstar
Coinstar News
There are some recent news articles regarding Coinstar, a company that operates self-service coin counting kiosks, and its partnership with Amazon, the online retail giant. Here are some of the main points:
Coinstar agreed to pay $6 million in fines and restitution to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) after its prepaid debit cards were found to have taken unfair advantage of some 1.2 million prisoners who were issued one since 2011. The cards charged fees for accessing the money that prisoners were owed, and Coinstar failed to provide them with a cardholder agreement or an alternative option to receive their funds. The CFPB ruled that Coinstar violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E3.
The company significantly expands its network in the UAE by activating the Western Union money transfer service on more than 580 kiosks – which are strategically placed in shopping malls, supermarkets, residential areas, banks, hospitals, government facilities, gas stations, staff accommodations and other locations across all seven emirates in the country.
The self-service kiosks allow users to process different types of payment-based transactions – such as utility bill payments or Etisalat, Du or Salik top-ups – in addition to Western Union money transfers. Western Union is the only cash to cash remittance service offered on these kiosks, and the customer will enjoy a complete Western Union look and feel on every screen till the Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN) is generated.
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL INTERACTIVE KIOSK DEPLOYMENT
Interactive kiosks are everywhere! Nearly every day in the news there is a new story of kiosks being deployed in a wide variety of applications intended to create greater efficiency in a variety of industries, including retail, food service, casino gaming, government agencies, school campuses, and more.
With so many success stories, many businesses see digital kiosks as a “magic bullet” that is going to increase revenue while cutting costs. While this is often the case, it is still important to look at a kiosk deployment as a strategic project that involves planning, execution, and follow-up to ensure that the kiosks are maximizing their potential and generating the most revenue in the most efficient deployment.
Location and Convenience Are Key!
Frank Olea, owner of Olea Kiosks, often compares interactive kiosk deployment to selecting a real estate location for a commercial business. Location and convenience are critical to a successful kiosk project, and as Olea says, kiosks are like retail stores, and “just because it exists, doesn’t mean people will go there.” The primary purpose of self-service kiosks is convenience, but if the kiosk isn’t placed in a convenient location, the kiosk inherently is no longer convenient.
As Olea says, “people naturally choose the path of least resistance,” so when confronted with any difficulty, such as an inconvenient location, customers will choose an easier option. For example if your favorite restaurant has a shortage of parking spaces and requires 20 minutes to look for parking, you are probably going to leave and find a more convenient option, no matter how much you may love the food. After a few instances of parking lot frustration, you probably will stop even considering that restaurant as an option.
The same can be true of kiosks. If a kiosk is placed in an out-of-the-way location or consistently has long lines, then consumers will naturally look for a more convenient option.
5 Tips for Success
The following are a few tips that will help ensure your kiosk deployment is able to help you to achieve your goals:
1. Clearly Define the Kiosk’s Business Objectives and the Potential Audience
Interactive kiosks have become such dynamic machines that they are able to handle nearly infinite numbers of business functions. It is important when planning a kiosk project that you clearly define the business objective for the kiosk as well as define the demographics of the group that will be using the kiosk.
The kiosk’s objectives and the potential audience can influence the design of the physical unit, the selection of optional components, and the design of the user interface. For example, with a healthcare kiosk, it is often important to provide an ADA compliant solution, which means that all components on the kiosk need to be accessible to all users, and the user interface must provide a solution for impaired users. Similarly, while a standard wayfinding kiosk can be a straightforward solution, there are many options that can be considered, such as the addition of banner ads to the user interface, which can make the kiosk project more successful.
Additionally, consider the volume of traffic and portability of the kiosk. While some kiosks are built to be completely portable with extremely modular lightweight components, such as Olea’s TapSnap portable photo booth, other kiosk projects have to deal with the rigors of a high volume of users every day, such as Olea’s ADOT vehicle registration renewal kiosks. Understanding the potential volume of users will ensure that your kiosk will be able to provide an effective long-term business solution.
An experienced kiosk builder, such as Olea, will work closely with its customers to identify who will be using a kiosk, how it will be used, and the likely number of users, and then develop a comprehensive design specification that directly caters to these factors. The more clearly you are able to define your objectives, the more likely the kiosk will be able to satisfy your goals.
2. Promote Your Kiosks!
Studies have shown that 85% of adults use kiosks for self-service transactions, so there is a tremendous interest in and demand for new kiosk deployments. As such, be sure to promote your new kiosk deployment with visible signage on and around your kiosks to ensure that it captures the attention of potential new users that are passing by.
Consumers have quickly become so accustomed to using self-service interactive kiosks that they not only prefer these self-service options, but they have now come to expect it! Make sure that you are supporting your kiosk deployment with enough promotion so that new users know it’s there.
3. Use Human “Stewards”
As mentioned above, there is a huge demand for self-service solutions, such as interactive kiosks, but sometimes humans can be resistant to change. Once we get comfortable using a particular product or service in a way that suits us, we may be reluctant to try something new or different.
When customers encounter a new kiosk, there may be some trepidation to try this new system, but this situation can be overcome by training customer service staff to closely monitor users of the kiosks and function as “stewards” for those users that encounter any difficulties. With human staff able to offer immediate guidance on the kiosk’s functionality, consumers will more quickly adapt to the new self-sufficient system and are more likely to become dedicated kiosk users.
Typically, once a customer gains confidence in a self-service solution, they are likely to prefer that self-service option for every transaction, which can increase customer satisfaction and provide greater overall efficiency. By using human “stewards” to guide the user through any difficulties, there is a greater likelihood that customers become dedicated long-term kiosk users.
4. Strategic Kiosk Placement
When initiating a new kiosk deployment, it is important to gather as much data as possible on current users of your services and to develop projections of estimated potential users of the new kiosk systems. In addition, it is often useful to create a schematic of your floor plan so that your kiosk manufacturer can work with you to determine the best solution for your needs.
For example, if you are deploying a wayfinding solution, you want to make sure that the kiosk is positioned in the highest traffic areas, but deployed in a location that will be unobtrusive to the flow of traffic. Similarly, for retail kiosks that provide SKU lookup functionality, product shopping capabilities, and a self-checkout system, it is typically most beneficial to deploy the kiosk near existing POS machines so that customers transition from human POS systems to the new self-service kiosk options.
5. Analyze Data and “Split-Test”
After a new kiosk project is launched, the project typically is not finished. Once the kiosks go live, it is important to begin the data tracking and analysis phase. Kiosk software can be configured with advanced tracking software that can provide detailed information on a variety of usage statistics including total users, average session duration, transactions started/finished (for retail kiosks), and user goals accomplished (i.e. new accounts created, loyalty cards issued, wayfinding map requests, etc.).
From this data, a business can often further optimize its kiosk deployment. For example, by using the old advertising technique of “split-testing,” a retail business can test multiple up-sell and cross-sell options to determine which is the most successful and drives the greatest ROI.
Similarly, it can sometimes be beneficial to “split-test” the physical location of kiosks in a store or facility. For example, in a retail setting, it may be beneficial to split test the placement of a kiosk near the entrance, near a POS system, and near the busiest thoroughfares to see not only the volume of users in each location, but also how the kiosks are being used – e.g. wayfinding, product lookup, UPC scanning, etc.
By closely monitoring the performance of a kiosk through the data provided through the kiosk analytic systems, the kiosk deployment can be tweaked and fine-tuned to ensure it is generating the best ROI for your business.
Award-Winning Interactive Kiosk Manufacturer
Olea Kiosks has been building award-winning interactive kiosks for over 40 years. We work closely with our customers in all phases of a kiosk project, including planning, manufacturing, deployment, and post-deployment follow-up to ensure that our kiosks generate the greatest ROI to our customers. Contact Olea today to find out how our interactive kiosk solutions can benefit your business.
Autumn is upon us! It’s time to pull out a sweater, light the fireplace, and relax with a good book. Along with the falling leaves and cooler temperatures comes the desire for comfort. So, in this season of comfort, how can we ensure that the feeling translates successfully to the sales floor?
The idea of comfort in sales has different definitions to different people, but the gap between generations tends to be the most jarring. Some generations, myself included, tend to find comfort in the traditional sales approach: one-on-one interaction with in-store personnel, discussing product knowledge, pricing and competitor information. Classic and simple, no bells or whistles, the traditional sales approach has been the go-to sales technique for generations. However, in the new age of technology, online engagement drives a new generation of shoppers. Millennials, born between the mid-1980’s and early 2000’s, are approaching the sales floors, as they mature into the primary household consumer. Therefore, we might want to begin to redefine the comfort zone as it applies to this new generation of customers.
Looking back to the traditional sales approach we revisit its glory in the days of the Baby Boomers. This generation’s comfort zone values conventional social interactions and the in-store experience. Millennials were raised during the revolution of modern technology and tend to find value in independent consumerism. This generation finds this formerly “go-to sales approach” to be off-putting, preferring to gain product information through online data before even entering the store. With 70% of Millenials reporting to experience social anxiety, it’s not a question of why these new shoppers dislike the traditional sales approach but what we can do to ensure their comfort. So, what does this mean for store merchandising redefining comfort on the sales floor?
Thanks to advanced technology, interactive kiosks are becoming more and more prevalent for consumers who are looking to avoid ‘being sold’ on a product. Millennials value their independence and ability to make decisions without feeling like they’ve been swayed one way or another. They don’t enter the store looking to be sold. They come with a product or purchase in mind, seeking reassurance in the choice they’ve already made themselves. In this case, interactive kiosks are ideal. Acting as a beacon, kiosks invite consumers to the product with unique designs, advanced technology and selling power. Shoppers are spending time in the stores, comfortable in the setting and finding the information that they seek about the product they are purchasing. It’s a win for the consumer, a win for the retailer and a win for the brand marketers.
The sales approach itself has changed throughout the years, but few items stay true. A personalized shopping experience remains a constant need from generation through generation. How can this personalized experience be utilized in a sales approach that limits direct customer-retailer interaction? The answer is found in interactive kiosks. Kiosks are preprogrammed to know the product in such a way that the consumer is left without reservation; at the same time, allowing for both effectiveness and efficiency that consumers demand. While some Millennials retreat from face-to-face encounters with salespeople, they are still looking to be recognized as a customer with specific needs. Technological advancements with interactive kiosks enable retailers and brand marketers to fulfill the Millennials’ desire for instant gratification, and provide the efficiency so important in a consumer’s personalized experience within their comfort zone.
New draft changes went in 3/19/2021 – release is imminent of 1.1.2 updated. We thought it a good time to bring this back into focus for the self-service community.
What is Europe ADA
EN 301 549 “Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe”
Where are the documents for EN 301-549
They are managed at ETSI
Are they the same as US ADA?
They share some identical influences such as WCAG but they are not the same. An update on the WCAG standard is the release of the working draft for WCAG 3.0. One of the goals of the U.S. Access Board is to “harmonize” the disparate standards into one standard. The European standards have been described by some as in certain cases more descriptive in effect. By contrast the US standards are sometimes described as more prescriptive. There are many areas that though that they directly harmonize with each other.
What Does EN 301-549 Say About Braille?
Not very much actually. It is included in the definition of assistive technology — assistive technology: hardware or software added to or connected to a system that increases accessibility for an individual NOTE 1: Examples are Braille displays, screen readers, screen magnification software and eye-tracking devices that are added to the ICT.
Do European Standards Specifically Mention “Kiosks”
Yes. In one sentence in definitions. Information and Communication Technology (ICT): technology, equipment, or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment for which the principal function is the creation, conversion, duplication, automatic acquisition, storage, analysis, evaluation, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, reception, or broadcast of data or information NOTE: Examples of ICT are web pages, electronic content, telecommunications products, computers and ancillary equipment, software including mobile applications, information kiosks and transaction machines, videos, IT services, and multifunction office machines which copy, scan, and fax documents.
Do European Standards Specifically Mention “ATM”
No.
Do European Standards Specifically Mention “POS or Point of Sale or EMV or PCI”
No, however, they do have a section for Receipts and Transactions which has requirements. It seems pretty clear that speech output is required to verify the transaction.
Europe ADA receipt
Comments by Access Board
Throughout its rulemaking process to update its Section 508 Standards, the Board coordinated its work with the European Commission’s development of counterpart ICT accessibility standards. In 2014, the European Commission adopted the “Accessibility requirements for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe” (EN 301 549) which is available for use by European government officials as technical specifications or award criteria in public procurements of ICT products and services. The Board has worked to ensure broad harmonization between its ICT requirements and the European Commission’s standards (as revised in 2015).
The language you use when describing the qualitative differences between the “European standards” and the “US Standards” appears to be more of an opinion, rather than fact-based. Example: “detailed outcomes and fuzzy requirement” versus “detailed requirements and fuzzy outcomes.” You may be better served by looking at some of the specific provisions in the two standards, EN 301 549 and the Revised 508 Standards (2017) and seeing how the technical requirements are addressed. While the language may differ, the standards still harmonize. For example, both standards have requirements in their respective documents on Hardware. The language used in each of the provisions is similar. The EN text also provides “Notes” which further explain the text of the provision. Another factor you might consider when doing an evaluation between the two standards is the context in which they are drafted. The U.S. 508 Standard is fairly focused on defining and addressing the accessibility features of ICT, with an intention of implementing this is procurements as well as operations. The EN standards address ICT accessibility features AND also address services, such as “Relay Services requirements” in Chapter 13 “ICT providing relay or emergency service access”.
See: Revised 508 Standards(2017) : 406 Standard Connections https://www.access-board.gov/ict/#406.1
406.1 General
Where data connections used for input and output are provided, at least one of each type of connection shall conform to industry standard non-proprietary formats.
Compared to: EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (2021-03) https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/301500_301599/301549/03.02.01_60/en_301549v030201p.pdf
8.1.2 Standard connections
Where an ICT provides user input or output device connection points, the ICT shall provide at least one input and/or output connection that conforms to an industry standard non-proprietary format, directly or through the use of commercially available adapters.
NOTE 1: The intent of this requirement is to ensure compatibility with assistive technologies by requiring the use of standard connections on ICT.
NOTE 2: The word connection applies to both physical and wireless connections.
NOTE 3: Current examples of industry standard non-proprietary formats are USB and Bluetooth.
Example of new kiosk in Germany
Click for full size — Samsung Kiosk Model for Germany
Regulatory Checklist Kiosks To assist companies in their due diligence for regulatory conformance the Kiosk Association has worked up a 14 point checklist that outlines the ADA, Accessibility as well as PCI considerations for self-service. Other standards such as UL also apply but for purposes of this document we are…
Sept 13, 2017 — The U.S. Access Board recently updated the 508 requirements for accessible ICT (information and communication technology) in the Federal space. This is their “press release”.
About the Update of the Section 508 Standards and Section 255 Guidelines for Information and Communication Technology
On January 18, 2017, the U.S. Access Board published afinal rule updating accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act. This document provides an overview of the rule and highlights substantive changes to the ICT requirements. The preamble to the final rule discusses the requirements in greater detail.
Updated Section 508 Standards for Federal ICT
The Access Board’s final rule revises and refreshes its standards for information and communication technology in the federal sector covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Board’s Section 508 Standards, which were first issued in 2000, apply to ICT developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies. Examples include computers, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines such as copiers that also function as printers, software, websites, information kiosks and transaction machines, and electronic documents.
Updated Section 255 Guidelines for Telecommunications Equipment
The Board’s final rule also updates guidelines for telecommunications equipment covered by Section 255 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. The Section 255 Guidelines, which the Board initially published in 1998, cover telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment, including telephones, cell phones, routers, set-top boxes, and computers with modems, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol products, as well as software integral to the operation of telecommunications function of such equipment.
Goals of the Refresh
The Board updated the 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines jointly to ensure consistency in accessibility across the spectrum of information and communication technologies (ICT) covered. Other goals of this refresh include:
enhancing accessibility to ICT for people with disabilities;
making the requirements easier to understand and follow;
updating the requirements so that they stay abreast of the ever-changing nature of the technologies covered; and
harmonizing the requirements with other standards in the U.S. and abroad.
How the Final Rule was Developed
The Access Board initiated this update by organizing an advisory committee to review the original 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines and to recommend changes. The 41 members of the Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) comprised a broad cross-section of stakeholders representing industry, disability groups, and government agencies. Its membership also included representatives from the European Commission, Canada, Australia, and Japan. The committee addressed a range of issues, including new or convergent technologies, market forces, and international harmonization and submitted its report to the Board in April 2008. Recognizing the importance of standardization across markets worldwide, the committee coordinated its work with standard-setting bodies in the U.S. and abroad, including the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the European Commission.
The Board released drafts of the rule based on the committee’s report in 2010 and 2011 and followed up with an official notice of proposed rulemaking in February 2015. With each release, the Board held public hearings and solicited public comment. Over the course of this rulemaking, the Board held seven public hearings and received over 630 comments.
Major Changes
The final rule revises both the structure and substance of the ICT requirements to further accessibility, facilitate compliance, and make the document easier to use. Major changes include:
restructuring provisions by functionality instead of product type due to the increasingly multi-functional capabilities of ICT;
incorporating the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 by reference and applying Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements to websites, as well as to non-web electronic documents and software;
specifying the types of non-public facing electronic content that must comply;
requiring that operating systems provide certain accessibility features;
clarifying that software and operating systems must interoperate with assistive technology (such as screen magnification software and refreshable braille displays);
addressing access for people with cognitive, language, and learning disabilities; and
harmonizing the requirements with international standards.
Incorporation of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The final rule incorporates by reference a number of voluntary consensus standards, including WCAG 2.0. Issued by the W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative, WCAG 2.0 is a globally recognized, technology-neutral standard for web content. The final rule applies WCAG 2.0 not only to web-based content, but to all electronic content. The benefits of incorporating the WCAG 2.0 into the Section 508 Standards and the 255 Guidelines and applying it in this manner are significant. WCAG 2.0 addresses new technologies and recognizes that the characteristics of products, such as native browser behavior and plug-ins and applets, have converged over time. A substantial amount of WCAG 2.0 support material is available, and WCAG 2.0-compliant accessibility features are already built into many products. Further, use of WCAG 2.0 promotes international harmonization as it is referenced by, or the basis for, standards issued by the European Commission, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, and France.
Harmonization with European Commission ICT Standards
Harmonization with international standards and guidelines promotes greater accessibility worldwide, enhances uniformity, and heightens market incentives for integrating accessibility into information and communication technology. Throughout the rulemaking process, the Board coordinated its refresh with the European Commission’s development of counterpart ICT accessibility standards. In 2014, the European Commission adopted the “Accessibility requirements for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe” (EN 301 549) which is available for use by European government officials as technical specifications or award criteria in public procurements of ICT products and services. The Board has worked to ensure broad harmonization between its ICT requirements and the European Commission’s standards (as revised in 2015).
Structure of the Rule
The final rule provides parallel chapters that separately address general application and scoping of the Section 508 Standards and the Section 255 Guidelines (Chapters 1 and 2). These sections apply to both 508-covered and 255-covered ICT functional performance criteria (Chapter 3), technical requirements for hardware and software (Chapters 4 and 5), criteria for support documentation and services (Chapter 6), and referenced standards (Chapter 7).
Coverage of Electronic Content (508 Standards)
Like the original 508 Standards, the updated 508 Standards apply to a federal agency’s full range of public-facing content, including websites, documents and media, blog posts, and social media sites. The final rule also specifically lists the types of non-public-facing content that must comply. This includes electronic content used by a federal agency for official business to communicate: emergency notifications, initial or final decisions adjudicating administrative claims or proceedings, internal or external program or policy announcements, notices of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunities or personnel actions, formal acknowledgements or receipts, questionnaires or surveys, templates or forms, educational or training materials, and web-based intranets.
“Safe Harbor” for Legacy ICT
Existing ICT, including content, that meets the original 508 Standards does not have to be upgraded to meet the refreshed standards unless it is altered. This “safe harbor” clause (E202.2) applies to any component or portion of ICT that complies with the existing 508 Standards and is not altered. Any component or portion of existing, compliant ICT that is altered after the compliance date (January 18, 2018) must conform to the updated 508 Standards.
Functional Performance Criteria (Chapter 3)
The functional performance criteria are outcome-based provisions that address accessibility relevant to disabilities impacting vision, hearing, color perception, speech, cognition, manual dexterity, reach, and strength. These criteria apply only where a technical requirement is silent regarding one or more functions or when evaluation of an alterntative design or technology is needed under equivalent facilitation. If a technical provision covers a particular function of hardware or software, meeting the relevant functional performance criterion is not required.
The functional performance criteria require that technologies with:
visual modes also be usable with limited vision and without vision or color perception;
audible modes also be usable with limited hearing and without hearing;
speech-based modes for input, control, or operation also be usable without speech;
manual operation modes also be usable with limited reach and strength and without fine motor control or simultaneous manual operations; and
have features making its use simpler and easier for people with limited cognitive, language, and learning abilities.
Technical Requirements for Hardware and Software (Chapters 4 and 5)
Requirements in Chapter 4 apply to hardware that transmits information or has a user interface. Examples include computers, information kiosks, and multi-function copy machines. These provisions address closed functionality, biometrics, privacy, operable parts, data connections, display screens, status indicators, color coding, audible signals, two-way voice communication, closed captioning, and audio description.
Software requirements in Chapter 5 apply to computerized code that directs the use and operation of ICT and instructs ICT to perform a given task or function, including applications and mobile apps, operating systems, and processes that transform or operate on information and data. These provisions cover the interoperability with assistive technology, applications, and authoring tools.
Support Documentation and Services (Chapter 6)
Access to support documentation and services for the use of ICT is also addressed. Product documentation must cover how to use the access and compatibility features required for hardware and software. Electronic documentation must comply with the requirements for electronic content. Alternate formats must be made available upon request for documentation provided in a non-electronic format. Support services, including help desks, call centers, training services, and automated technical support must accommodate the communication needs of customers with disabilities and include information on access and compatibility features.
Referenced Standards (Chapter 7)
In addition to WCAG 2.0, the final rule also references other voluntary consensus standards to address:
ergonomics for the design of accessible software (ANSI/HFES 200.2, Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces – Part 2: Accessibility)
interference to hearing aids by wireless telephones (ANSI/IEEE C63.19-2011, American National Standard for Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between Wireless Communications Devices and Hearing Aids)
handset generated audio band magnetic noise of wire line telephones (TIA-1083-B, Telecommunications—Communications Products—Handset Magnetic Measurement Procedures and Performance Requirements)
speech quality in digital transmissions (ITU-T Recommendation G.722.2, Series G. Transmission Systems and Media, Digital Systems and Networks or IETF RFC 6716, Definition of the Opus Codec)
audio description by digital television tuners (A/53 Digital Television Standard, Part 5: AC-3 Audio System Characteristics)
accessible PDF files (ANSI/AIIM/ISO 14289-1-2016, Document Management Applications — Electronic Document File Format Enhancement for Accessibility — Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1))
keypad arrangement (1 ITU-T Recommendation E.161, Series E. Overall Network Operation, Telephone Service, Service Operation and Human Factors)
Effective Date and Next Steps
Federal agencies and contractors covered by Section 508 are not required to comply with the updated 508 Standards immediately. The Rehabilitation Act gives the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) and federal agencies up to six months to incorporate the updated 508 Standards into their respective acquisition regulations and procurement policies and directives. It will be up to the FAR Council to establish the date by which new and existing procurements for 508-covered ICT must meet the updated 508 Standards. For all other non-procured ICT, federal agencies and contractors must comply with the updated 508 Standards beginning on January 18, 2018 (i.e., one year after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register). During the interim period before the updated 508 Standards take effect, the original 508 Standards continue to serve as the accessibility standard for all 508-covered ICT.
With respect to the updated Section 255 Guidelines, compliance is not required until the guidelines are adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is the federal agency tasked with implementation and enforcement of Section 255. The FCC’s existing regulations under Section 255 specify accessibility requirements that largely track the Board’s original Section 255 Guidelines. When the FCC initiates a rulemaking to revise its existing regulations, it has the discretion to adopt the Board’s 255 Guidelines in whole or in part. Any FCC rulemaking, when completed, will specify the effective date for its updated accessibility requirements under Section 255.
Further Information
For further information on this rulemaking, visit the Board’s website at www.access-board.gov, send a message to [email protected], or contact Bruce Bailey at (202) 272-0024 (v), (202) 272-0070 (TTY) or Timothy Creagan at (202) 272-0016 (v), (202) 272-0074 (TTY).
ADA News – EZ Access® trademark Licensed by Assistra Technologies
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has executed an exclusive license agreement with Assistra Technologies, LLC, covering a portfolio of patents and trademarks relating to disability access systems for self-service kiosks, touch screen systems, and similar devices. The patents included in the license cover a variety of aspects of such systems and devices, such as novel methods for touch screen access for the vision impaired, tactile interfaces, and keypad designs. The license also includes the well-known “EZ®” and “EZ Access®” trademarks, which have been in use in the market to designate systems and certifications for providing disability access to electronic device interfaces.
The licensed technology was developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Trace Research and Development Center. The researchers recognized that public self-service kiosks in the United States should be accessible for everyone, including individuals with disabilities such as reduced vision or other physical limitations. Assistra’s implementation of this technology, pursuant to its license with WARF, will further the Trace team’s goals by helping to improve the cross disability access of self-service kiosks, including a kiosk’s accessibility to people with vision, hearing, mobility and minor cognitive impairments.
EZ Access® approved hardware and technologies are currently being used by several government and public institutions, including the Department of Homeland Security for border passport kiosks; and also by Amtrak and the U.S. Post Office for self-service kiosks. Assistra plans to expand the use of EZ Access® technology to include several major airlines.
Assistra will help ensure the quality of all EZ Access® implementations by creating a more formal certification program and by providing consulting services that will make EZ Access® technologies easier to integrate into both new and existing self-service kiosks and other public electronic devices such as voting machines.
“In many situations, people with disabilities are finding themselves in the position of needing to educate themselves about a kiosk’s technology every time they approach a new self-service kiosk.” says Bruce Winkler, Assistra Technologies’ Managing Partner. “One of our goals with the suite of EZ Access® technologies is to strive towards consistency and simplicity, and thereby achieve maximum accessibility by those with sensory, mobility or cognitive impairment.”
Winkler added, “Our implementation of the EZ Access® technologies developed by the University of Wisconsin Trace Center provides cross-disability access by combining a tactile keypad along with simple interactive techniques in ways that work together robustly and flexibly to accommodate users. This allows more people to use the product according to their own ability, preference or circumstance. What’s more, Assistra will work with its customers to ensure that their implementations of our EZ Access® technology will be ADA and Section 508 compliant.”
In addition, Assistra plans to enhance the existing EZ Access® product and service offerings by working with kiosk manufacturers to develop all-in-one self service kiosks that already implement the licensed technology, as well as software toolkits that will allow more companies and institutions to easily incorporate the licensed technology into their kiosk designs. According to Mr. Winkler, “markets and institutions that can benefit from the licensed technology include airport and transportation kiosks, accessible voting machines for polling places, ordering kiosks at fast food chains, and wayfinding kiosks in government buildings, federal parks, and hospitals to name a few.”
About WARF
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) helps steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Founded in 1925 as an independent, nonprofit foundation, WARF manages more than 1,700 patents and an investment portfolio of $2.6 billion as it funds university research, obtains patents for campus discoveries and licenses inventions to industry. For more information, visit www.warf.org.
The Trace R&D Center was formed in 1971 at the University of Wisconsin – Madison to address the communication needs of people who are nonspeaking and have severe disabilities. The Center was an early leader and innovator in the field that came to be known as “augmentative communication” and has recently relocated to the University of Maryland. For more information, visit http://trace.umd.edu.
EZ® and EZ Access® are registered trademarks of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
Recently there was a large RFP for kiosk enclosures (at a federal cemetery). The procuring office indicated that no computers would be required as they had existing stock of some older Dell laptops. The laptops run Windows 7 (consumer edition). Deploying self-service computers with an unsupported (and often hacked) operating system in order to save $20 is a common mistake.
We often find windows computers, in particular, to be highly vulnerable in public locations. As a “white hat” we probably get into 50% of those computers one way or another. If they have personal data, that brings in to bear some pretty hefty HIPAA violations, especially in the medical field.
Bootup is the most vulnerable period for a public computer. Usually fairly easy to locate the power plug and unplug the unit. If you go really cheap, then you didn’t bother to use an UPS either.
And having been in the role several years as IT manager, we can tell you that as earnest and well-intentioned in-house technical gurus like to fancy themselves, at best they have to educate themselves first in order to eliminate access and data (cache files) to any reasonable degree. Our advice has remained the same over the years for those techs. Use a robust and mature lockdown system and see what it does. It has been hacked over the years (all software has been hacked and then adjusted if it is any good). Imitation is the sincere form of flattery. Don’t learn at the expense of your customers (or your legal settlement fund).
Employee Considerations
The usual mental framework for kiosk mode is to secure the interface for customers in self-service mode.
Fact is though the same applies to employees, especially with the social account proliferation. We see examples of employees playing Doom for example on POS terminals (usually running Windows). They could just as well be on TikTok or a porn site or surfing Google (with all its bad actor ads). Data, privacy, and ransomware all come into play.
Or maybe the employee loads Doom onto customer kiosk. See McDonald’s employee incident. The good news there is that at least the game station had a built-in screenreader (JAWS is used on McDonald’s kiosks).
Best to lockdown that POS application and the order kiosks…
Other Kiosk Mode Horror Stories
To be sure software and application must be secure. But don’t forget the physical — one of our favorites is the LazyBoy credit application. We wrote this up in 2018.
Note the bottom mount plate the unit sits on. It says Private, Safe, Secure.
Run the video and checkout the backside of the unit with the keys available to unlock the enclosure.
Inserting a small USB transaction sniffer is child’s play and anyone who fills out the credit application is handing it to some hacker. For reference the lockdown solutions referenced all provide protection against USB sticks.
Sitekiosk – Android and Windows lockdown, remote management and CMS for digital signage
Disadvantages of Assigned Access
A common question I hear from new clients is “why would I want to use kiosk software when I can just use kiosk mode in Windows (aka Assigned Access)?”
This is a fair question, so we’ll explain the limitations of Windows Kiosk Mode and when there is a need for kiosk software.
The short answer is that kiosk software makes up for the shortcomings in Windows Kiosk Mode and adds an additional layer of security and ease of use to get you up and running quickly without all the headaches.
Windows Assigned Access is a feature which lets you restrict a specific standard account to using only one Windows Store app. For example, you can restrict customers at your business to using one app so your PC acts like a kiosk.
Whenever someone signs in with the specified account, they’ll only be able to use that one app. They won’t be able to switch apps or close the app using touch gestures, a mouse, the keyboard, or hardware buttons. They also won’t see any app notifications.
In a self-service kiosk environment, you might select Internet Explorer as your one app to run and point that at your kiosk application website.
Unfortunately, there are several limitations to Windows Kiosk Mode that will cause big problems, particularly in an unattended kiosk environment…
Malicious users can potentially access the operating system, manipulate files, steal customer data in a number of ways. See my article on kiosk hacking.
Users can browse to ANY website since there’s no ability to restrict the browser to certain websites
Printing will popup the print dialog box, thereby confusing users and compromising security
Downloading malicious files can corrupt the operating system and compromise user data
System shortcuts like CTRL-ALT-DEL are not blocked, giving the attacker the ability to disrupt your kiosk and compromise security
No support for payment devices (bill acceptors, credit card readers, etc…)
Another Point of View
Microsoft provides a basic lockdown solution that misses many key features that kiosk software like SiteKiosk provides for a successful deployment of kiosks, public computers and digital signage screens.
Different devices in public locations require different designs and layouts. Kiosk software like SiteKiosk come with different layouts, customizable browser designs and a design tool to create custom user interfaces without programming skills. Microsoft’s kiosk solution might require you to consult with a web developer if you require a certain design of your start screen.
Especially for larger deployments and for managing interactive screens, a Cloud-based remote management, monitoring solution adds value for administrators to remotely update the configuration and the content on the remote clients without local human intervention. Similarly, important information, notifications and logs can be accessed by administrators remotely.
Kiosk software adds necessary system monitoring and maintenance features out-of-the-box. A software watchdog feature in SiteKiosk monitors the system and restarts it within seconds if needed.
To protect business and user data, kiosk software like SiteKiosk also provides a session reset feature to reset the system after a pre-configured idle time and/or upon clicking a logout button by the user.
All browser and application windows will be closed, all user traces will be deleted (history, cookies, and cache), and the SiteKiosk browser returns to the Start Page.
Most kiosk software products and remote management solutions for kiosk systems can be tested before purchasing.
Still feeling like you’d rather do it yourself and deal with the unknowns and Windows (or Android) patch management cycle? Here are some contract “writers” offering their semi-educated viewpoints.
Breaking into unattended and semi-attended devices should be harder than it is.
Recently McDonalds kiosks were hacked but by users simply using the software installed against itself.
One big rule — employ a lot of QA on your unit and have people try to break. Developers always think they have covered all the contingencies but almost never do. They defend against what they know, not what happens in the real world.
Great video from LOL ComediaHa illustrating the over-confident developer thinking he has it all figured out, only to find out otherwise…
Think the risk is overblown? A recent story on ZDNet detailed how a third-party worker inserted a USB drive into a computer on a cargo ship, inadvertently planting a virus in the ship’s administrative systems.
Self-service kiosks are everywhere from street corners to grocery stores and hackers are gunning for your customer’s data. Payment kiosks in particular are attractive targets because cardholder data is easy to monetize.
In this article I’m going to cover several techniques for hardening your kiosks security. Many of these kiosk hardening techniques involves functional changes to your kiosk application, so you’ll need to get your developers involved.
Prevent PIN theft
It’s frighteningly easy to steal someone’s PIN number using an iPhone and a thermal camera.
Flir makes one such thermal mobile camera that can be used to easily determine the PIN number someone entered.
The following video demonstrates this technique and explains how metal PIN pads, like those commonly found on ATMs, can be used to prevent PIN theft.
Shows how PIN theft works with thermal mobile camera and an iPhone
Password protect the BIOS
The BIOS firmware comes pre-installed on a personal computer‘s system board, and it is the first software to run when powered on.
The BIOS is the first screen that appears when your computer boots and determines the boot order, among other things. From a security standpoint this is of particular concern because we don’t want a hacker to be able to reconfigure the computer to boot from a USB drive, or other media, instead of the kiosk’s hard drive.
Booting from another media would allow the attacker to run malware instead of the kiosk’s operating system. Fortunately, protecting the BIOS is simply a matter of configuring a password so the BIOS settings cannot be modified.
Here’s a tutorial video of how-to password protect your BIOS.
Tutorial video of how-to password protect your BIOS
Restrict keyboard input
The operating system has many keyboard shortcuts that will allow an attacker to exit out of your kiosk application and access the desktop.
There are many such hotkeys (i.e. Ctrl-Alt-Del in Windows) and we want to restrict the keyboard input to prevent a hacker from exiting your kiosk application.
Avoid the use of a physical keyboard when possible and instead opt for an onscreen keyboard with the system keys removed.
As an added layer of security, you can use a keyboard filter driver to filter out system hotkeys.
Prevent the mouse right-click
Right clicking the mouse will prompt the user with a series of options. Some of which could be used to close or compromise your kiosk application. This is particularly true if your kiosk is running a web browser.
Limiting the user to only clicking the left mouse button will help mitigate this risk.
The easiest way to achieve this is by having your kiosk application filter or ignore the right mouse click.
Block physical access to USB ports
By allowing a hacker access to the USB ports they can potentially load malware to hijack your kiosk.
The following video explains how BadUSB works and suggests some techniques for protecting your USB ports on a laptop.
For a kiosk, all the USB ports should be made inaccessible through the use of a secure kiosk or tablet enclosure. Many secure enclosure options are available for both tablets and kiosks.
Explains how BadUSB works and suggests some techniques for protecting USB ports on a laptop.
Prevent access to the file system
It’s important to ensure that hackers cannot access the file system of your kiosk. There are multiple ways to get to the file system, particularly if your kiosk is running a web browser.
One method is by simply entering the file path into the web browser address bar like shown below. I now have access to browse the file system and access potentially sensitive information.
File system accessed through the address bar in Chrome
Other opportunities to access the file system include, but are not limited to, the print dialog and right clicking the mouse.
You’ll also want to monitor for popup windows and automatically close any dialog boxes.
Restrict access to external websites
If your kiosk is running a web browser then you’ll want to restrict the user to only viewing your website.
The most straightforward way of accomplishing this is through the use of a whitelist.
A whitelist list is an acceptable list of websites or web pages, depending on how granular you want to get, which the browser will allow to be displayed.
If the user attempts to navigate to a page not in the whitelist then the page will not be displayed.
Incorporate a watchdog
A watchdog refers to a service running in the background which ensures that your kiosk application is always running.
If your kiosk application crashes, uses up too much memory, or stops behaving for any reason, the watchdog will restart it.
In Windows the watchdog should be a Windows Service that automatically runs at startup. The watchdog will be implemented differently depending on your operating system, but the underlying objective is the same.
Wrapping Up
Anytime you’re deploying a kiosk, protecting customer data should be a top concern.
Payment kiosks in particular are attractive targets for hackers because cardholder data is easy to monetize. But payment kiosks aren’t the only kiosks at risk.
In order to implement the techniques in this article you’re going to have to modify your kiosk application. It’s time to get your developers involved so you can start protecting your customers and your reputation.
Linux has emerged as the next incremental step in self-service kiosks (see new hardware options from Elo). Cost has always been a major concern and Windows has run its course at typically $80 license for decent CPU. Android native is free but for purposes of self-service must be customized. Linux offers zero cost and total control. No more wondering if a Windows patch cycle has downed your machine. Another entry is Flex from Google. Several kiosk projects in hospitality have been deployed. With any OS you choose it should come with free built-in remote monitoring designed for kiosks. Originally published on KioWare Kiosk Software website. You can view the original release here.
Linux Has a Strong Future in the Kiosk Industry
8/21/2023
The kiosk industry has been rapidly expanding and evolving in recent years, and as technology progresses, so do the hardware and software platforms that are used to power these devices. Primarily due to a wide range of device support, the Windows OS has long been the leading choice for kiosks; however, Android has been making solid gains in market share recently. We believe that Linux has become a very good OS on which to build a kiosk, and that Linux has the brightest future in the kiosk industry.
In particular, our KioWare OS for Linux® makes it possible to create a kiosk appliance. We have taken a very minimal version of the Debian Linux distribution, added only what’s necessary for a kiosk to run, and integrated KioWare directly into the OS. When the device boots, KioWare loads first and controls any other apps you have configured to be loaded. KioWare is completely in charge, and to exit KioWare is to power down the device. With KioWare, the device has become a kiosk appliance with only one purpose: being a self-service kiosk.
Over the years, Windows OS has become a bulky choice for kiosks. It still holds a commanding lead in device support, but it comes with a lot of operational baggage. With Windows, kiosk software has to spend a lot of effort making sure the kiosk is running efficiently and robustly.
Android has the issue of each hardware manufacturer using their own unique, and sometimes proprietary, low-level OS functions. As kiosk system software, we need low-level access to the OS to provide a safe and robust kiosk solution, and that is challenging when that access varies among hardware manufacturers. Some manufacturers’ APIs are poorly documented or buggy, and others are not available. Fortunately, Samsung, the market leader, does provide quality low-level access to the OS, and our KioWare for Android product supports the Samsung/Knox version of Android. We have integrated the Tinker Board and Raspberry Pi hardware in our KioWare OS for Android product and can add additional Android hardware manufacturers as demand dictates.
iOS has the problem of Apple completely controlling not only the hardware but also the low-level access, and while there are kiosk use cases where iOS works fine, it is not a general-purpose self-service kiosk solution.
Linux has two primary advantages. First, unlike Android and iOS, which are designed to run on specific hardware configurations, Linux is open-source software that works with a wider variety of devices. This makes it easier for kiosk manufacturers and businesses to choose the hardware that best suits their needs and budget, without being limited to a specific set of options. KioWare OS for Linux currently runs on x86-64, Raspberry Pi and ASUS Tinker Board.
The second advantage of Linux is, because it is lightweight and open source, the OS can be designed to contain just the essentials a kiosk needs, and it can easily be modified to enhance security or provide useful features. Windows, Android and iOS come with a lot of extra features, applications, and services that are not necessary for a self-service kiosk deployment. This excess baggage causes performance issues and in the extreme case can cause security issues.
It is worth noting that Linux is already being used successfully in many other sectors, such as healthcare, retail, and industrial automation. With its flexibility, hardware compatibility, and the ability to create customized systems, Linux may very well be the future of the kiosk industry. Only time will tell, but businesses and kiosk manufacturers should keep a close eye on this trend and seriously consider KioWare OS for Linux.
Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
About Linux Kiosk by KioWare
Our most secure product to date, KioWare OS is a custom-built software designed from the ground up, with the customer in mind. No prior experience with Linux is needed to deploy this, as kiosk and system functionality can be defined using our Configuration Tool program, making for an easy set-up. Within the Configuration Tool, you’ll also find convenient access to update your product to the latest version. It is lightweight enough to run on smaller devices, such as the Raspberry Pi or ASUS Tinkerboard, as well as larger Intel-based devices.
KioWare OS is currently available in our Lite model.
Looking at the new Elo Slates which is also Debian here are the devices supported out-of-the-box (11 total)
Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) – Elo P/N: E001002
Fingerprint Scanner – Elo P/N: E134286
GPIO Cable – Elo P/N: E211544
POE Module Kit – Elo P/N: E413396
EMV Cradle for MagTek eDynamo – Elo P/N: E375343
EMV Cradle for Ingenico RP457c (with Audio Jack, BT and USB) – Elo P/N: E586981
EMV Cradle for Ingenico RP457c (with BT and USB) – Elo P/N: E710930
Status Light (Micro-USB Connectivity) – Elo P/N: E644767
Temperature Sensor Pro – Elo P/N: E534879
3D Camera – Elo P/N: E134699
Webcam – Elo P/N: E201494
The computer vision checkout fixture has been installed in my local Sam’s Club in Springdale, Arkansas. The device has not been activated yet, but it looks to be close to being operational. Awesome! Thanks to Scott Benedict Affiliate Partner at McMillan Doolittle!
Interesting 2006 Video by IBM [Thanks Zac at Nanonation!)
walmart self checkout
sams club checkoutUpdate Feb 2024 – Walmart announces massive new updating and ungrading of existing stores to its “Store of the Future” concept.
Update December 25th, 2023 – Latest test in downtown Bentonville Neighborhood market is RFID(?) cart. This example from a local Neighborhood Market store is an opportunity for rapid checkout with a cart full of tagged purchases. We will all be interested to see how this test unfolds in the year ahead. Meanwhile the troubles for Toshiba continue to grow.
What’s coming next? Optimization is moving from the counter to the upstream cart. Next stop is the shelf itself?
Thanks to Reforming Retail& Jordan for the tip. Recommended highly subscription (we do…). Forget the sponsor-advertiser led “news portals”.
We track SCOs as we call them. Everybody uses them from Lowes, Home Depot, to Target to Whole Foods, Costco and yes, Walmart.
Updated 10/16/2023 — see below image and comment
Good article on Reforming Retail detailing what RR thinks the next steps are for Walmart and Self-Checkout. We have a paid subscription and RR is very nice about us republishing their content. We recommend a paid subscription to access all the articles. We say that very rarely. Reports from Insiders isn’t quite the same as a corporate announcement for sure. We’ll monitor. For reference Whole Foods uses NCR SCOs. We have an article on their lack of accessibility.
After Losing Lowes and Home Depot, Insiders Say NCR Lost Walmart Self Checkout Business
Imagine a company so corrupt that an incompetent CEO can make $20M a year to lose customers the size of the ones in the article title. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening according to N…
So some years ago Walmart decided to build their own self-checkout machine called Gulfstream – image below.
walmart self checkout
In late 2022 they began deploying the machines in the Dallas market.
The way it works, per the NCR insiders, is like this:
NCR will provide the installation and services of these new Gulfstream self-checkouts. But NCR’s self-checkout product is dead as far as Walmart’s concerned.
There was a hiccup in October of 2022 with Gulfstream’s cash dispensing module so Walmart had NCR come back in to temporarily reinstall their NCR machine until Walmart could get through the holidays.
But now, according to NCR insiders, Walmart is dead set on rolling out their Gulfstreams.
Over the next four years Walmart won’t install any new NCR systems and Walmart will roll out their own. It will probably take decades to replace NCR, but BCS has a warehouse full of Gulfstream machines and even had to buy the building next door to store all of the Gulfstream units.
NCR insider
We called BCS but they offered no comment.
We also asked NCR for comment and they offered none.
As we were told, years ago Walmart went away from NCR to Compucom. It turned out that Compucom didn’t have enough resources so Walmart begrudgingly negotiated a new contract with NCR. But ultimately, Walmart is not a fan of NCR (neither are we fans of companies who pay executives tens of millions a year to screw shareholders and employees).
When we first started deploying the Gulfstream it was taking 6 hours to build the system with 2 technicians, which is labor intensive as these things go. Instead, BCS is going to assemble them all and ship them out, drastically cutting down on NCR installation time.
Under my tenure NCR has lost Lowe’s and Home Depot, so it’s not surprising a larger, more sophisticated retailer is booting NCR.
NCR insider
In response to the bleeding, NCR has made huge personnel reductions according to insiders.
NCR fired so many people to get up profit margins so it looks good on paper. We eliminated territory managers in the self-checkout depart, stopped all travel for installations, and only allow travel for break/fix issues
NCR insider
According to the insiders, the theory is that NCR’s self-checkout business will be sold to Amazon, who own Whole Foods, one of the only sizable retailers left using NCR.
Of course Amazon has their own self-checkout technology, and it’s better if for nothing else than it cuts down on fraud.
Why they haven’t rolled this out to Whole Foods is anyone’s guess.
But in the Walmart vs Amazon world, NCR might make some money on the grudge match.
Just expect all of it to funnel directly into the pockets of NCR’s management.
Seems to be a popular topic considering as far as major retail goes it is generally referencing less than 10 stores. You see nice “grabby” headlines when you search and then the articles opens with example of two or three stores removing out of thousands. Retail Dive for example. It’s popularity is due to traffic audience tendencies and catering to that audience in order to gain higher advertising rates. To a large extent most of the audience is media in fact and irrelevant to a buying audience. A buying audience might be small grocer wanting to compare problems with NCR versus Fujitsu. Both of those companies have big clouds over their heads in one way or another.
The usual questions are:
Why are stores removing self-checkout? — looks like 10 in Walmart (thousands of store). Dollar General is but they are an outlier and dollar is in their name.
Will self checkouts go away? — not a chance. More and different classes and technology. Walmart has at least 5 classes of just SCO + two of assisted. Last year they had one.
How does Walmart detect theft at self-checkout? — there are cameras, lidar, barcodes, scales and people. The latest Walmart self checkouts are tougher than the NCR
What is the problem with self-checkout? — Generally it suffers from PR problem. People being replaced by machine and having the option of scanning themselves. The NBC story dragged out the bunch of bananas assuming we are a bunch of monkeys.
Is Walmart bringing back cashiers? – only for temporary periods like Christmas to handle burst traffic. Its also good PR
July 2024
NBC News does a hatchet job basically in search of headlines — The initial “setting the table” is the title “Major retailers are backtracking on self-checkout”. They then point to Dollar General. If you research at all you will get numbers ranging from 12,000 to 3000 to 300. This is what the NBC reporter used for data. Bigger numbers are best.
Let’s check on how many stores they have. Looks like they just hit 20,000 stores.
From May 10-Q SEC Filing — We have continued to experience significantly higher inventory shrink. Although we continue to take actions designed to reduce shrink, we anticipate it will continue to materially pressure our financial results in 2024. To address shrink challenges, as well as to enhance the overall customer and associate experience in our stores, we continue to implement and refine our self-checkout strategy, including limiting self-checkout to transactions of five items or fewer, and converted some or all self-checkout registers to assisted checkout options in approximately 12,000 stores. Further, we have invested in retail labor as discussed below and we are implementing plans designed to improve store manager turnover rates.
The inventory and the customer demographics for Dollar General are very different than primary retail like Walmart and Target
Terrible story. We refuse to hyperlink it — https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/major-retailers-are-backtracking-self-checkout-rcna160234
Walmart removes some self-checkout lanes from its branches. The list of locations where self-checkout lanes are being removed now includes Shrewsbury, Missouri, Cleveland, Ohio and Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to a Daily Express U.S. report.
According to the report, many retailers are reducing the number of self-checkouts as a response to an increase in shoplifting. The news outlet claims that self-checkout thefts are five times more likely than traditional cashier checkout theft.
Niel Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, told the news outlet: “Theft rates at self-checkouts are reasonably high both because of deliberate actions and accidental mistakes. Forcing more customers to use manned checkouts resolves a lot of these issues and saves retailers money.”
Walmart said it has removed self-checkout lanes at two additional stores — one in Shrewsbury, Mo., and another in Cleveland.
“As part of our announced plans for additional investments and improvements to facilities across the country, we’ve decided to remove self-checkout lanes and replace them with staffed lanes at select locations,” Brian K. Little, a spokesperson for Walmart, told Supermarket News.
The decision was based on several factors, including feedback from employees and customers, shopping patterns, and business needs in the area, he said.
“We believe the changes will improve the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service,” Little said.
Last year Walmart said it had removed self-checkout from three stores in Albuquerque.
The company has previously stated that it has no plans for the widespread removal of the service, and Little said the company had no additional news to report about changes in its checkout lanes.
Earlier this year Dollar General said it was removing self-checkout from 300 stores, and scaling it back at other locations, due in part to high levels of theft. Customers are now limited to a maximum of five items in the self-checkout lanes.
Target and Schnucks also both recently said they had changed their self-checkout policies to a maximum of 10 items per customer. Kroger also recently added traditional checkout lanes at a store in Dallas where it had been offering self-checkout exclusively, according to local reports.
Costco, meanwhile, said it added more personnel to its self-checkout areas after discovering that non-members were using the self-checkouts using the membership cards of other individuals.
One of our ongoing threads in tracking Walmart Self Checkout. See Walmart – NCR Self-Checkout Being Replaced with Homegrown? Walmart is a technology leader no doubt. In past years they have always been willing to test new iteration and even new payment methods (here is link on Affirm regarding latest BNPL Buy Now Pay Later capability.
Seems to be a magnitude of change coming. Biggest change might be walking away from NCR with its Fastlane POS and it’s self-checkouts. We wrote them up on their Whole Foods iteration and others like Lowes and Target have fled the roost. We have first hand experience visiting and touring the main NCR facility in Bentonville (down the street from Store #1) and the elimination of the service component would be mega body blow for NCR.
Toshiba isn’t much better either…(see earlier story – Meanwhile the troubles for Toshiba continue to grow.)
In the news are many articles that make it sound like consumers hate self-checkout and that Walmart is in process of getting rid of all its SCOs. We have some cheap land in Florida for sale too… Between click hungry “journalists” and AI reading too much into “faddish” trends fact is Walmart continues to increase the number of checkouts. Here is article on LinkedIn and also here on kioskindustry.
Update December 25th, 2023 – Latest test in downtown Bentonville Neighborhood market is RFID(?) cart. This example from a local Neighborhood Market store is an opportunity for rapid checkout with a cart full of tagged purchases. We will all be interested to see how this test unfolds in the year ahead. Meanwhile the troubles for Toshiba continue to grow.
What’s coming next? Optimization is moving from the counter to the upstream cart. Next stop is the shelf itself?
Thanks to Reforming Retail& Jordan for the tip. Recommended highly subscription (we do…). Forget the sponsor-advertiser led “news portals”.
The good news is we have some more pictures of those Walmart self checkout units
Thanks to Scott Benedict who just happens to live in Arkansas. Affiliate Partner at McMillanDoolittle | Top Retail Expert | Retail Merchant | Consultant | Educator | Author | Mentor | Speaker | Podcaster | Advisory Board Member | eCommerce Executive | RetailWire BrainTrust Panelist
Walmart Self Checkout 2024 – Click for full size
New Walmart Checkout 2024 – Click for full size
New Walmart Checkout 2024 – Click for full size
Walmart Checkout 2024 – Click for full size
Meanwhile over at Sam’s and Costco?
Link to video — I had the privilege of sharing on stage at CES our news to converge those two priorities by delivering new levels of convenience by leveraging a first-of-its-kind application of artificial intelligence and computer vision technology, creating a seamless exit experience. This digital solution addresses a key member concern, waiting in line for receipt verification to exit the club, by allowing a member to simply walk out with their purchased items.
Alleviating Key Pain Point from Progressive Grocer — Currently running pilots across 10 Sam’s Club locations, the technology is used to seamlessly confirm members have paid for all items in their shopping carts – without requiring an associate to check members’ purchases before leaving the club. Before this technology, members were slowed by queuing at the club’s exit area to have Sam’s Club exit greeters review receipts. Members continue to say they want a faster and more convenient shopping experience and consistently rated the wait times at the exit – especially during busy periods – as a pain point in the shopping experience.
Let’s not leave out Costco — Costco appears to be testing a digital ID scanning station at the front door of at least one of its stores. Shoppers spotted the tech at the store near Costco’s corporate headquarters in Issaquah, Washington.
Meanwhile Back In Colorado at Super Walmart January 2024 – New Checkout Units!
We visited the local super duper Walmart here in Denver and went thru the self checkout. The attendant let me know that the SCOs were brand news and literally were installed the night before. The biggest change he thought was new additional charge for bags. All the colors kind of remind me of a bag spilt skittles. Also camouflaged.
Click for full size — walmart self checkout 2024 — Comments: Modified NCR R6C SCO….perhaps that is a new model from NCR. Likely the R7 unit that was in Whole Foods lab.
DynaTouch launches new website for TIPS™ Kiosk Management Software, the most secure and ADA/508 compliant kiosk software on the market www.TIPSkiosksoftware.com
San Antonio, Texas. – November 15, 2016 – DynaTouch, a pioneering self-service kiosk solutions provider, announced that they have launched the TIPS™ Kiosk Management Software website. TIPS (Touch Information Presentation Software) has been the foundation of everything DynaTouch for three decades in the self-service kiosk marketplace.
Click to Expand
TIPS kiosk software first appeared on the landscape in 1984, when DynaTouch started installing “electronic concierge” kiosks in Texas-based hotel lobbies – the first of their kind. Soon thereafter, DynaTouch installed and operated similar TIPS kiosks at all five of the military bases in San Antonio (Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB, Kelly AFB. Brooks AFB and Fort Sam Houston). Over the next 10 years, DynaTouch designed, developed and deployed customized TIPS kiosk systems (hardware, software and content) for more than 75% of the U.S. Military installations worldwide, and started doing the same for VA Medical Centers across the nation. To support these projects, DynaTouch created a wide range of kiosk apps (check-in, wayfinding, survey, queuing, directories, etc.), and TIPS Kiosk Management Software was the secure platform for each and every solution.
By the late 90s, the Internet started changing everything in the kiosk world. There was an almost global shift to move kiosk content and apps to the web, so they could be centrally managed, controlled and easily updated. Stand-alone systems were upgraded, and new systems were shipped Internet-ready. However, it quickly became clear that Internet-connected public-access kiosk systems were highly vulnerable to intrusion, misuse, web-based attacks and cyber-vandalism. This is when the power of TIPS Kiosk Management Software came to the forefront. TIPS was put to the test, and succeeded! TIPS kiosks were the first public-access kiosk systems ever to receive a Certificate of Networthiness (CoN) from the U.S. Military. And TIPS is also on the list of approved software for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, due to its robust security and compliance features (ADA, Section 508 and HIPAA).
DynaTouch President Tom McClelland said, “TIPS is the most secure browser application in the kiosk industry. And TIPS’ remote management tools are as robust as TIPS is secure.”
In addition to the TIPS secure browser, which tightly regulates what users can do on the Internet, TIPS manages all kiosk peripherals, locks down the OS and network, offers robust usage logging and statistical reports, and includes integrated cloud-based content management and monitoring.
Two years ago, DynaTouch CEO Terri McClelland said in a letter to her team, “Since we started this kiosk business, we have always been a total solutions provider. TIPS has always been at the core of every solution we supply, but rarely sold separately. We have made the decision to actively change that, and offer TIPS Kiosk Management Software as a stand-alone product our clients can install on any Windows or Android device. Now it can protect anyone’s laptop, computer, tablet, kiosk or kiosk application from cyber-vandalism and liability.” Since 2014 the software has become widely used as an ideal way to lock down and remotely manage all kinds of shared and public access computing devices, including thousands of “Self-Help PCs” managed by the Social Security Administration.
About DynaTouch Interactive Technologies
Established in 1988, DynaTouch is an IT solutions company specializing in interactive, self-service systems that deliver information and assistance in unattended settings. As a pioneering developer of customer-facing kiosk applications for multiple US Government Agencies, DynaTouch focuses on ease of use, data security, ADA/Section 508/HIPAA-compliance. The company offers OneSource Solutions™ packages which include hardware, kiosk management software, interactive application software, software development, multimedia content design and production, pre-shipment system integration and testing, worldwide deployment, Internet setup and support, network management, content management, and ongoing support – in any combination to match customer requirements. DynaTouch kiosk, mobile and digital signage solutions work around the clock to enhance customer/patient/visitor services. At the same time, they cut administrative costs by taking advantage of proven technologies in multimedia, touch screen simplicity and global information exchange via the Internet. DynaTouch truly offers a one-stop Self-Service Kiosk solution.
Windows secure browser lockdown software has a long history and there are numerous articles regarding assigned access as it is called, and the many problems that trying to DIY with the standard Windows tools rarely turns out well, and then it has to be redone for next iteration of Windows. Windows XP was the first commercially used Windows software. It still runs on many ATMs and I suspect a few airline kiosks. For that matter most credit card readers are not encrypted in this day and age. Doing your own lockdown because you think you are extremely cheap or you have the available resources is the usual rationale. Our advice is to at least educate yourself first on the trials and tribulations that industrial strength (and secure) software has learned over the last 10 or so generations while you begin your first generation.
It may sound less than tactful but the fact is if you think about it, most times you try and go cheap, end up being much more expensive. Nobody wants to spend an exorbitant amount of money unnecessarily. It’s just a matter of calculating the probability of that happening based on a decision.
KioWare software for lockdown and remote monitoring
Sitekiosk – Android and Windows lockdown, remote management and CMS for digital signage
Windows, Android and Linux versions
What is Kiosk Mode?
Locking down your computer so that it does what it supposed to do, and only what it is supposed to do is usually accomplished by kiosk lockdown software. Many times the IT department will first opt for tweaking in Windows OS. Most times this inevitably does not work, if only because the “really smart guy” who did it is no longer there.
That solution is the “kiosk mode” solution and these days you have a Chrome Kiosk Mode as well as “Assigned Access” under Windows 8.1 and these are never used in major unattended self-service deployments and for good reason. If you have a couple of units in the lobby and a eager IT person, then maybe kiosk mode will work for you.
Better to use an established and supported lock down which you can always get support for and is not dependent on one person. Examples are:
Windows 8 introduced a new feature that has effectively been dubbed “Kiosk Mode” due to it’s ability to lock down Windows to a single application that the user can run. This kiosk mode option can be useful for a surface level of security, but does not provide the level of security needed for self service or public access computers.
Personal data is at risk as is browser history, passwords, and other private information. The integrity of the computer is also at risk, as any downloads and uploads provide access to the local file system and expose the computer to malicious files or intent.
For true protection, restrictions and security, it is recommended that kiosk software be utilized. KioWare has multiple options (from KioWare Lite to KioWare Full with Server) that will allow more control and provide true security to protect both the device and the user. Read the full article about Windows Kiosk Mode limitations and capabilities by downloading the pdf. Kiosk Mode Limitations
Generally, kiosk mode is usually meant to refer to a particular “mode” that most browsers offer. “Kiosk Mode” is offered by browser applications (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox etc) to run the application full screen without any browser user interface such as toolbars and menus. The intent of most people setting up “kiosk mode” is to prevent the user from running anything other than the browser based content in the full screen browser window.
What kind of security does a browser’s Kiosk Mode offer and is it a viable solution for users? If “Kiosk mode” is meant to create a “Kiosk like environment”, the kiosk mode option on your browser is likely insufficient.
Kiosks tend to be deployed in a self-service environment which means the user of the kiosk is not formally associated with the kiosk. In short, the user doesn’t own the kiosk and isn’t responsible for the proper functioning of the kiosk. The user just wants the kiosk to provide a defined service. This can cause a problem for Kiosk Mode browsers because of the following situations not handled by Kiosk Mode browsers.
Session Management – User Data Security
For most applications, a self-service or public access kiosk needs to clean itself of the current user’s data when the user leaves. How does the kiosk know a user has left? The simplest solution is an inactivity timer, but that can be a problem if the kiosk has a queue of users, and the next user steps up and begins using the kiosk before the inactivity timer runs out. In this case, a proximity switch or security mat is required. Regardless, when a user’s session is finished the kiosk needs to delete all record of the user. This means clearing cache, user session data and potentially the print queue.
It is also important for the kiosk to reset to the start page of the application when a user session has ended. There is nothing more confusing to the next user to see the kiosk at screen #20 of the application.
Full Keyboard Blocking
Sometimes the kiosk deployment uses the standard computer keyboard. The standard keyboard has a long list of keys that a user should not be able to use. In a Windows environment, the key combination of Ctrl-Alt-Del can create havoc to a device in a browser kiosk mode state. In Windows, a sophisticated kiosk owner can change Group Policies to minimize the Ctrl-Alt-Del hazard, but the list of individual keys and key combinations which need to be blocked is extensive. The main issue with Group Policies is that they aren’t intuitive. Group Policies are difficult to setup properly initially, and can be inadvertently and quickly undone by a future kiosk programmer/staff member.
Application Restart, Memory Management
Kiosks tend to run unattended for long periods of time, and many browser based applications are designed to be run once and then be closed (ex, internet websites). This means that the application can continue to grab a larger chunk of memory with each run. This is particularly an issue for a kiosk where the application is being run repeatedly. At some point enough memory has been used that the operating system starts to suffer and the kiosk stops functioning properly. The kiosk needs to be smart enough to monitor its own health and when necessary restart the application or even restart the kiosk. Browser based Kiosk modes do not address this need.
Custom Toolbars
By definition Kiosk Mode removes all of the browser’s toolbars and menus. As such, the application needs to have navigation built-in or a navigation toolbar needs to be displayed. Forward, Back and Home buttons are a minimum requirement with perhaps a print button and scroll buttons as necessary.
Printers and Other External Devices
For security reasons, it is critical to not show the normal OS print dialog when a user requests a print. Even more critically for internet content which may have embedded print buttons, the device must properly handle inadvertent print button selection when the kiosk has no printer. This needs to be properly handled or else OS dialogs will be displayed. This can be both confusing to the user and a serious security risk.
Internet Content, Domain “Allow” Lists
Often a kiosk provides access to a specific website or websites, and it is critical to keep the user on that specific website or websites, or even certain selected pages of that website/websites. In addition, certain allowed website domains/pages may have links to download files. These files can be confusing and distracting at best and serious security issues at worst. As such, file downloading action needs to be blocked. In addition, there may be links to enable the user to send an email using HTML’s [MailTo] tags. Clicking this button will attempt to open an email tool which a) likely isn’t installed and will error out (again confusing to the user, potential security issue) or b) if an email tool happens to be installed, then this could almost certainly cause a huge security risk. The kiosk needs to prevent [MailTo] tags from being clicked.
OS GUI
Windows, in particular, has a bad habit of popping up dialog windows, task bar, charms bar, etc., for a variety of reasons completely unrelated to the application. They are at minimum confusing to a kiosk user and serve as a potential security threat. The kiosk needs to prevent these items from being displayed to the user.
It is clear that for a majority of self-service applications, browser Kiosk Mode options have limitations that prevent it from being a viable solution. Moving to a kiosk software solution will provide you with the security that you need. Using kiosk software solutions, you won’t inadvertently leave open a serious security hole or confusing user experience. The user experience will benefit while keeping user and company data secure.
Sunglass Hut Partners with IDL Worldwide for its Millennial-Focused Retail Brand and Environment, Shaded. | Virtual Strategy Magazine is an online publication devoted entirely to virtualization technologies.
Craig Keefner‘s insight:
the customer experience needed to be interactive, the team integrated built-in photo booths to allow for instantaneous photo taking and prints. Additionally, in order for the consumer to feel comfortable engaging within the space and merchandise, the brand needed to communicate authenticity.
See on www.virtual-strategy.com
Sunglass Hut Partners with IDL Worldwide for its Millennial-Focused Retail Brand and Environment, Shaded.
Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) April 16, 2014
In an effort to better connect with the Millennial Generation, Sunglass Hut launched a new retail brand and environment, Shaded, this past November. To capture these consumers, Sunglass Hut sought to make a very different statement from its current retail space. To help position this new brand in the marketplace from a visual and retail point of view, Sunglass Hut looked to IDL Worldwide to manage the design, development and execution of its open-air kiosks.
To answer to millennial consumer habits, IDL conducted significant research to better understand shopping behaviors and preferences. Upon conclusion that the customer experience needed to be interactive, the team integrated built-in photo booths to allow for instantaneous photo taking and prints. Additionally, in order for the consumer to feel comfortable engaging within the space and merchandise, the brand needed to communicate authenticity. To bring a new kiosk format to life that was completely new and exciting compared to what was already on the market, IDL drew inspiration from using real elements and materials for authenticity. From exposed brick walls and reclaimed wood to metal beams and wired glass, an American industrial vintage-inspired design was brought to life.
“The quality, workmanship and details have exceeded our expectations. People said it couldn’t be done in the short time frame, but IDL over delivered by hitting the time line with quality workmanship” said Senior Director of Outlets, Travel, Retail and Emerging Business, Doug Incorvati. “Changing minds not with words, but with deliverable actions, is commendable.”
IDL’s design teams in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Portland came together to ensure the kiosks were just as functional as they were aesthetically pleasing. To support a multipurpose system, a series of multifaceted modular blocks were developed with metal inserts that can be conjoined in many ways and adjusted to various sunglass displays. To preserve the engaging environment of the open-air kiosks while still providing security, IDL engineered bi-fold doors that close and lock to protect merchandise overnight.
The first Shaded open-air kiosk launched in November at Queens Center in New York, which was followed by Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus, Ohio and the Mall at Tuttle Crossing. The open-air retail environment and shop-in-shop were very well received by the Sunglass Hut management team, brand team and operations, as sales exceeded expectations throughout the critical 2013 holiday season. One of the open-air environments was placed at Macy’s Queens Center in New York City, a retailer that has also recently reported a new strategic approach focused on millennials, who are now considered Macy’s largest segment of customers. There has since been discussion of Macy’s rolling this concept to additional locations. The Shaded brand has plans to expand the new concept and brand footprint with potentially ten more retail locations this year.
For more information, contact Allison Duval, Marketing Communications Coordinator at [email protected]
IDL Worldwide (http://www.idlww.com), part of Matthews Brand Solutions, is a global retail design and project management services firm that delivers strategy, creative, execution and reporting of in-store marketing programs that range from temporary graphics to store fixtures. With Brand Centers in Pittsburgh, PA and Portland, OR, and offices in San Francisco/Oakland, Chicago, Mexico, Germany, Brazil and China, IDL’s retail-centric approach spans from generating brand strategy to fabricating brand solutions.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/IDL/Shaded/prweb11765760.htm
Read more at https://www.virtual-strategy.com/2014/04/16/idl-worldwide-designed-kiosks-targets-millennials#AOM62YLxgZJ2b2JJ.99
Clear EnVe Pods will enable Clear users to verify their identity using face-first biometric technology (rather than an eye or fingerprint scan) for up to five times faster verification.
Clear’s new EnVe Pods, which use face-first biometric technology for faster identity verification at airports. Key points include:
Efficiency: EnVe Pods provide up to five times faster verification than previous methods.
Deployment: The new technology is being rolled out at 12 airports, including Denver International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
User Experience: Clear members can verify their identity more quickly, reducing wait times and enhancing the travel experience.
Future Plans: Clear plans to continue rolling out EnVe Pods across its network through 2025, eventually phasing out older verification methods.
Clear lanes at these 12 airports are currently utilizing the new EnVe Pods:
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City
Oakland International Airport (OAK)
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C.
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC)
We all like stats and numbers, too. Generally, though, any stats for any market are 95% of the time from India + they are automatically raised 10% from last year’s report + they want $5000 for them. Generally all the wrong companies are listed, there are very pretty charts and graphs, half of the copy is reiterated in different ways and there is zero insight to be gained. You may as well listen to certain cable channels for “news”. There are some decent data firms, but even they often suffer from their “sponsor influence” (RBR in Europe, e.g.). “I paid for this microphone” principle applies.
There is some value in these reports. Generally they are triggered by more activity in markets (thus more potential sales) so a certain trend can be identified.
Kiosk Stats
kiosks
Infinitive Research Report released 11/27 – Terrible & False
2024
Restaurants
2024
Airport Kiosks
USD 2.19 billion in 2023 to USD 2.35 billion in 2024. It is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 7.67%, reaching USD 3.68 billion by 2030.
2024
Restaurant POS Terminals
Expands from $29.57 billion in 2023 to $31.64 billion in 2024, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.0%. BRC
2024
Restaurants Stats
Restaurants
2024
Restaurants
2024
Restaurant POS
USD 2.19 billion in 2023 to USD 2.35 billion in 2024. It is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 7.67%, reaching USD 3.68 billion by 2030.
A new study published by Report Ocean Market Research projects that the global Restaurant POS Terminals market is expected to achieve a valuation of USD 30,966 million by 2026. In 2017, fixed POS terminals held the dominant position in terms of revenue, and North America is predicted to be the leading contributor to the market revenue during the forecast period.
According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global restaurant point of sale (POS) terminal market accrued earnings worth $16.5 billion in 2021, and is expected to hit $44.6 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 10.8% from 2022 to 2031.
2024
Digital Signage Stats
Digital Signage
Digital Signage Market size was valued at USD 20.04 billion in 2023 and the total Digital Signage revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.15% from 2024 to 2030, reaching nearly USD 32.55 Billion by 2030.
2024
Digital Signage Touch Apps
Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, NEC, Sony, Panasonic, Cisco Systems, Sharp Corporation, Elo Touch, Planar. CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period (2024-2030)
Digital Signage India
US$ 604.8 million in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 15.2% over the forecast period (2021-2028).
Healthcare Stats
Patient Kiosk SW
The patient check-in kiosk software market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $12.84 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3%. Business Research Company (India). Pretty terrible.
2024
Telehealth
The global telehealth kiosk market is projected to reach a valuation of over USD 4,129.80 million by 2034, marking substantial growth from its current estimate of approximately USD 2,060.50 million in 2024. With a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.20% over the forecast period, the market’s expansion is underscored by rising demand for accessible healthcare services, particularly in underserved and rural areas.
Bit of news in the Bitcoin space. Recently Cole Kepro out of Vegas went into receivership and put several hundred non-delivered bitcoin kiosks up for sale. Their troubles trace back to being willing to invest in Chicago bitcoin operator who ended up going defunct. Lots of kiosks with no place to go.
A total of almost 300 have been “sold” in one form or another. These units are highly engineered and top tier quality. Not your usual cheap overseas models. If you are interested you can send an email to us at [email protected] or you can contact John Bryant on LinkedIn. John is very longtime kiosk industry veteran and straight shooter. Pretty sure he has some BNRs for sale too. Say hi for Craig for a discount.
bitbox kiosk inventory
Bitcoin Crypto ATM Market
This week we also have an article and numbers on the Bitcoin ATM market, We haven’t seen the report ourselves so we cannot vouch for it but it appears “relevant. Hard to say with research market reports. We note there is zero coverage of legislative and legal changes going on right now. California is a good case in point for these types of units and trying to make the transactions more transparent.
bitcoin atm kiosk players
crypto atm kiosk market
Article
Crypto ATMs can be found in various locations such as shopping malls, convenience stores, and airports, making it convenient for individuals to access cryptocurrencies. Making crypto easier to access with greater visibility is great for the market overall. A potential network of epic proportions, with more than 160, 000 convenience stores in the United States alone. Adding grocery stores raises the tally to 36,000. Over 82 percent of retail, grocery, and luxury goods merchants are ready and willing to accept crypto. So are nearly 26 percent of travel, hospitality, and automotive merchants. As use of cryptocurrencies becomes more popular throughout the world, the number of crypto ATMs continues to rise, making them more accessible to consumers.
Market Analysis and Growth Rate
The crypto ATM market has grown in recent years and the number of ATMs have been installed all-around world. The first BTM was installed in Vancouver, Canada on October 29, 2013. This activity produced more than 40,000 BTMs within last 10 years. The United States has the largest number of Bitcoin ATMs with approximately 33,700. While 2,650 crypto ATMs in Canada the country has moved to the number 2 spot in terms of the number of the most crypto ATMs. In January 2022, Spain has announced that plans to add 100 new Bitcoin ATMs to the existing BTM network. The industry is forecasted to grow due to the rising acceptance of cryptocurrency and demand for simple and accessible ways to purchase and sell digital currencies.
The global Crypto ATM Market size will hit USD 5 billion through 2036, increasing at a CAGR of 55% before the end of the forecast window, which would be 2024 to 2036. In the year 2023, the market of crypto ATM exceeded USD 600 million. The increase has been fueled by the rapid acceptability of crypto coins, drives-like approach to purchasing and selling cryptomarkets. Some of the key players in the industry, including CoinFlip, CoinCloud, Coin ATM Radar, Bitcoin Depot, Bitstop, and Coinsource.
Trends in Crypto ATM Adoption
The cryptocurrency transaction’s future is changing at an unprecedented pace, with a wide range of cutting-edge trends and novelties coming to life within the scope of crypto ATMs. These exciting developments are revolutionizing people’s behaviors towards digital currencies and creating conditions for more wide-scale acceptance and flexibility.
Growing Acceptance of Cryptocurrencies
Just 8 years ago, the world had only 7 cryptocurrencies. Today, there are more than 22,000 active cryptocurrencies. All those cryptocurrencies altogether hold a value of more than $1 trillion while the number of people using cryptos exceeds 290 million. Consequently, due to the soaring numbers of people accepting cryptos as a form of payment, especially for businesses, people are fast to adapt crypto ATMs as they offer a more accessible form of buying and selling cryptocurrencies with cash.
Integration with Mobile Wallets
Another notable trend for crypto ATMs is the connection to the mobile wallet. It permits the consumer to avail of digital assets and continue with the sale and purchase through his system. Once the crypto ATMs are connected to the mobile wallet, it facilitates the producer to offer connectivity assistance to users for more availability of the conveniently controlled digital currency.
Biometric Authentication
While it is necessary to follow some security measures to protect people’s identities from falling into the wrong hands, the credibility of one’s identity is just as important. Therefore, crypto ATMs are developing biometric authentic and verification technologies for added layers of security. As such, only authorized personnel can access it using this feature, which optimizes security.
Increased Adoption by Mainstream Financial Institutions
The new wave of pragmatic acceptance concerning cryptocurrencies has seen mainstream financial institutions acknowledge the benefits and have started adopting crypto ATMs to allow their clients to experience the potential of these new technologies. Furthermore, the use of these innovations by conventional financial firms not only legitimize the currencies but also represent a significant step towards availing the ATMs to a broader audience.
Impact on Financial Inclusion
Regarding their potential impact on financial inclusion, crypto ATMs can indeed increase access to financial services for people who are unbanked and under banked. This type of ATM provides an opportunity for people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies for cash and thus be a part of the global digital economy without having a regular bank account.
Financial services access: Crypto ATMs enable people who lack access to standard banking services to purchase, sell, and hold cryptocurrency, which can then be used for a variety of transactions and savings.
Remittance: Individuals can receive and send remittance more cheaply and quickly with Crypto ATMs. This is particularly true for populations in less-served locations or nations with restricted financial institutions.
Privacy and secure: People can keep a low profile or use understood payments channels whenever dealing with unstable currencies or concerned about their wealth. .
Financial Education: Crypto ATMs can serve as educational tools, introducing individuals to the world of cryptocurrencies and promoting financial literacy.
Empowerment: By providing access to financial services, crypto ATMs empower individuals to take control of their finances and participate in the global economy.
Regulatory Challenges and Opportunities
Anti-Money Laundering (AML): Due to the possibility to launder money and conduct illegal activities, it is a problem for a crypto ATM to ensure AML-compliant operations. At the same time, the ATMs can be used to install advanced AML measures, real-time monitoring, and reporting suspicious activities.
Know Your Customer (KYC): It is hard to conduct proper KYC for users, as most ATMs can operate without identification. However, it can be an opportunity to implement KYC and benefitably cooperate with IDV services.
Licensing and registration: Crypto ATMs need to overcome the challenge of diverse requirements in jurisdictions such as licenses and registration. Still, when adhering to this factor, companies can open doors for collaboration with relevant authorities and financial institutions.
Taxation: Another problem to solve is the requirement to determine the possible taxation implications of the crypto ATM transactions, which are determined differently in every country. From there, cooperation with the taxing authorities may open opportunities for easy cooperation and applications.
What Future Holds?
The future of crypto ATMs looks bright as a significant number of installations is projected in the coming years. Perhaps, other developments such as collaborations with traditional financial institutions could bridge the gap between digital currencies and banking services. Privacy-crypto innovations could also play a significant role in offering more privacy for users when transacting with crypto ATMs. Additionally, with the vast expansion of the Internet of Things, this infrastructure could reach smart cities and connected devices to ensure a seamless purchase of cryptocurrencies.
imageHOLDERS announces new deployment with Post Office in UK. Partnering with Ricoh, Intelligent AR and Meld CX. You may remember MeldCX from hotel check-in integrations. Also typically Chrome so shows up on Thinclient.
Nice article on Dorset News — The gradual nationwide rollout is set to begin in Spring 2025. Neal Newbrook, propositions manager at the Post Office, said: “Post Office is committed to enhancing customer service across the network, working in partnership with our Postmasters and retail partners. “Introducing these new self-service kiosks will make it easier and more efficient for customers to access the mail products they require. “We’re excited to work with imageHOLDERS on this key project that will help postmasters and our retail partners meet evolving customer needs.”
Pictures – the kiosk lineups are illustrative of their go to market ranges – our key sectors are Healthcare, Aviation, Retail, Hospitality and Post and Mail.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
imageHOLDERS Partners with Post Office for Nationwide Rollout of Self-Service Kiosks
Revolutionizing Customer Service Across the UK
Dorset, 20/11/2024 – imageHOLDERS, a leading provider of self-service kiosk solutions, is proud to announce its new partnership with Post Office for the rollout of self-service kiosks in Post Office branches across the UK. This collaboration will support Post Office’s aim to enhance customer service, increase accessibility, and streamline transactions at Post Offices nationwide.
Post Office, a cornerstone of British communities, serves millions of customers every day. To continue delivering high-quality service while adapting to evolving customer expectations, Post Office has chosen imageHOLDERS’ state-of-the-art kiosks to provide an efficient, user-friendly, and inclusive self-service experience.
Collaborating with industry-leading partners Ricoh, Intelligent AR, and Meld CX, this self-service kiosk collaboration provides expertise in advanced automation and intelligent design to elevate the functionality and user experience of the kiosks. Ricoh brings extensive service capabilities, reaching, installing, and supporting 4,000 + devices across the estate, while Intelligent AR provides postal software solutions rooted in a deep understanding of the customer journey.
Meld CX offers remote kiosk and device monitoring to deliver real-time support and self-help, ensuring maximum uptime.
Together, these partnerships ensure that Post Office remains at the forefront of innovation in customer service by providing streamlined, responsive solutions.
Enhancing Customer Experience with Cutting-Edge Technology
The rollout of self-service kiosks will allow customers to quickly and easily perform a variety of tasks, including:
Postal services – sending parcels, purchasing stamps
Home shopping returns
Electronic pre-advice and overseas services
Printed confirmation and tracking details
By automating these routine transactions, the kiosks will reduce queues, improve service efficiency, and free up staff to assist customers with more complex needs.
The kiosks will be equipped with intuitive touchscreens and designed with inclusivity at the forefront, ensuring ease of use for all customers, including those with accessibility requirements.
Delivering Accessibility and Innovation
As part of its commitment to providing an inclusive customer experience, imageHOLDERS will work closely with Post Office to ensure that the kiosks meet the highest standards of accessibility. From ergonomic design to accommodating assistive technologies such as screen readers and braille interfaces, the self-service kiosks are built to serve every customer equally.
“We are thrilled to partner with Post Office to help deliver more efficient and accessible services to customers across the UK,” said Richard Satchell, CEO of imageHOLDERS. “Our self-service kiosks will not only reduce wait times and improve customer satisfaction but will also ensure that these essential
services remain inclusive to everyone, regardless of their abilities.”
A Nationwide Transformation
The nationwide rollout is set to begin in Spring 2025, with self-service kiosks being introduced in a select number of Post Office branches before expanding to more branches across the country. This partnership signifies a major milestone in both imageHOLDERS’ and the Post Office’s ongoing missions to modernize service delivery, enhance customer experiences, and meet the changing needs of today’s consumers.
“Post Office is committed to enhancing customer service across the network, working in partnership with our Postmasters and retail partners,” commented
Neal Newbrook, Propositions Manager, Post Office. “Introducing these new self-service kiosks will make it easier and more efficient for customers to access the Post Office mail products they require. We are excited to work with imageHOLDERS on this key project that will help postmasters and our retail
partners meet evolving customer needs.”
About imageHOLDERS
imageHOLDERS specializes in creating innovative self-service kiosks and device enclosures for a wide range of industries, including healthcare, aviation, retail, and public services. With a focus on combining cutting-edge technology with ergonomic, user-friendly design, imageHOLDERS works to provide seamless and inclusive digital experiences that enhance both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
For more information on this partnership or to schedule an interview, please contact:
I’m excited to share the pilot launch of an incredible project that we’ve been working on at JCPenney! See details below.
JCPenney is responding to evolving consumer demands with innovative technology. Teaming up with Kitestring Technical Services and Elo Touch Solutions to streamline operations with a mobile-first approach.
Watch this case study video to discover how we’re reshaping retail shopping into a customer-first experience with a mobile payments-powered handheld, the Elo M60.
Article on Impact of Tariffs on kiosks and digital signage. With the election comes new trade policies. One in particular is tariffs. If put in place, it will have ramifications across the kiosk and digital signage industries. Article on AVIXA
It’s early on for sure but good idea to lay out starting framework for cautions and also new opportunities.
Updates:
Seeking Alpha 11/25 — Trump’s tariffs could cost Americans $78B in annual spending power: NRF – The increased prices would be too high to be absorbed by U.S. retailers, resulting in prices that many consumers would be unwilling or unable to pay, the NRF report said.
Cryptopolitan 11/25 — No-one wins in a trade war’ – China warns Trump against crashing the global economy. China has fired back at President Donald Trump’s latest threat to slap a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports.
Speaking with lawyers specializing in business formation there is a big rush by Chinese companies to set up US offices.
Many Chinese companies have already set up in Vietnam
The kiosk industry has always had a complex relationship with Chinese component and kiosk pricing. We love to buy devices at the lowest cost, such as barcode scanners, touchscreens and displays. The kiosks selling for a third the price (before shipping) are not so loved. Made in China, it is easy to find.
This year, in order to learn and understand more, I began an Asia Pacific group on WhatsApp and began recruiting participants, primarily from Shenzen but from all over. The Grotto image is from Luoyang, where one of my members makes lockers, for example. I have 50 participants currently.
The recent election has raised potential outcomes that directly impact both Chinese suppliers and American manufacturers. Tariffs have long been a negotiating tool but have also been implemented and implemented. Importers pay that fee. See article on APnews explaining potential impact on China, US manufacturers utilizing China and Mexico (100% tariffs).
In February 2025, there is a strong possibility for additional tariffs, as high as 60% for Chinese goods. I have advised my APAC members to prepare and consider as the probability of some type of impact is relatively high. Maybe there is a two to three-month window for “buy now before the price goes up…”? FOMO is the acronym for selling tactics.
While the potential increase in tariffs may decrease competition for American-made kiosks, it’s important to note that those US-made kiosks also rely on main components from China, which means their costs are also likely to rise. However, this situation could also present new opportunities for the industry.
Generally, the cost of a kiosk consists of an enclosure, the computer, and the display. Usually assembled, which is another factor. Assemblies and parts are often treated differently.
Of note: BOE in China is the dominator regarding screens/glass.
Many Chinese companies have taken the unusual step of setting up mirror facilities in Vietnam, which faces different challenges.
My advice to my Chinese members? Sell as much as possible, as fast as possible, and then back off from the US market. Not surprisingly, my Chinese members had no idea of potential tariffs in play till I told them this week.
American kiosk producers would have an advantage, but higher profit is seductive.
It’s important to remember that this is relatively unknown and speculative. I’ve been an investor for 40 years so my first reference point is always the financial markets. I like to predict. As such, it’s crucial to approach the situation with caution but also a readiness to adapt to any changes that may occur.
Given the current situation and the potential for change, all industry stakeholders must prepare and carefully consider different scenarios. This proactive approach can help mitigate potential risks and ensure the industry’s resilience.
Pandemic — The Sequel? Good chance we might be headed towards parallel of pandemic when prices & costs increased “because of pandemic…). Tariffs present close approximation of those conditions. Walmart and Lowes have weighed in and support that idea. Walmart says, Walmart’s CFO, John David Rainey, said the retailer could have to raise prices on some items if President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs take effect. On an earnings call, Lowe’s CFO Brandon Sink said about 40% of the company’s cost of goods sold comesfrom outside of the U.S., including direct imports and merchandise from national brands. He said tariffs “certainly would add product costs,” but added “timing and details remain uncertain at this point.”
I’ll keep an eye out and will post comments and updates here.
Excuse me while I admire my unbelievable gains in digital currency and bitcoin markets over the last month…Not a big fan of Blackrock but the IBIT ETF has been stellar. It’s not hard to foresee less regulation of digital currency and wider monetization across American public in form of bitcoin ATMs and others. Fasten your seatbelt!
Comments:
How tariffs could be structured matters: Prior, the bulk of the products tariffs put on on were B to B products. By and large, tariffs on B to C products were not levied. Regarding the B to B product, if the tariff is raised to 60%, it is an actual 23% increase from the product currently tariffed at 30%.
Here is an example of cell phone carriers and iPhones to differentiate between B to B and B to C tariffs. When the cell carriers want to upgrade their store, the display that cost $1,000 before the first tariff now costs 1,300. At a 60% tariff, the carrier will pay $1,600 for the same display. The higher display cost is allocated against thousands of customers, so the impact on any one customer is pennies at most and not apparent to them. Restated, the cost impact to a given consumer is negligible.
Compare that to putting a 60% tariff on a new iPhone the consumer purchases from the carrier store. If the sell price of a $1,000 iPhone goes to $1,600, the consumer is painfully aware, and all hell would break loose on social media.
Related Impact of Tariffs on kiosks and digital signage Links
IDEMIA Public Security North America, the market-renowned provider of solutions for Motor Vehicle Agencies, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS), has launched its new self-service kiosks at Tennessee Driver Service Centers to reduce customer wait times.
Tennessee residents can use IDEMIA’s SMART-E Kiosks to complete many driver’s license transactions, including renewing or replacing a duplicate driver’s license or ID card, changing an address, updating emergency contact information, advancing a Teen/Graduated Driver License, paying reinstatement fees, and requesting a license reissue after reinstatement requirements are met.
Web Enrollment platform
IDEMIA’s next-generation kiosk, the SMART-E, has been redesigned for motor vehicle agencies
IDEMIA’s next-generation kiosk, the SMART-E, has been redesigned for motor vehicle agencies, offering self-service options built on the same industry-renowned browser-based Web Enrollment platform used by examiners to capture customer data, photo, signature, and payment.
With cloud-hosted Issuance 360 Back Office providing integration with the State System of Record on the backend, users can enjoy a seamless solution that spans industry-renowned customer service at examiner workstations, and flexible and efficient self-service, along with many great benefits:
Easy to Use and ADA-Compliant: Easy-to-follow instructions over two screens for dynamic workflow and privacy protection. ADA-compliant audio navigation via speaker or audio jack.
Flexible Placement: Easily deployed wherever power and ethernet connection is available, with the option of space-saving, back-to-back arrangement.
Configurable Workflow: Offers flexibility to be used with agent assistance (“Attended Mode”) or as self-service (“Unattended Mode”).
ICAO-Compliant Photos with Automatic Height Adjustment: Photo capture for seated or standing customers with a 13 MP autofocus camera. Automatically crops to ICAO and AAMVA standards and performs ICAO quality compliance checks.
Upfront Eligibility Check: Uses 1:1 facial recognition to compare against the photo on file and determine eligibility for self-service transactions.
New self-service kiosks
“We are excited about the added flexibility and convenience the new self-service kiosks will provide for Tennesseans. Citizens can complete many Driver Services transactions at one of these new kiosks, which will help reduce wait times at Driver Services Centers,” said TDOSHS Commissioner, Jeff Long.
“We are thrilled to launch our new self-service kiosks in the state of Tennessee. With our commitment to serve Motor Vehicle agencies across the country, we are excited to bring this solution to help Tennessee Driver Services Centers bring an efficient, convenient, and seamless experience to their customers who come into their offices,” said Donnie Scott, CEO, IDEMIA Public Security North America.
Other advanced DMV solutions
In addition to IDEMIA’s self-service kiosks, IDEMIA serves Tennessee residents with other advanced DMV solutions, including mobile travel cases, physical driver’s licenses, facial recognition, remote web test, proctor ID (at home testing), and front office/capture equipment.
On top of IDEMIA’s advanced DMV solutions, IDEMIA also provides Tennessee residents access to statewide enrollment services, Automated Fingerprint ID System (AFIS), LiveScan Devices, Morpho/Mobile IDent 2.0, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Checkpoint Identity Authentication, and TSA PreCheck.
The Pyramid Passport and Flex countertop will be shown in 1602. Both units include assistive technology and one will be running JAWS by Vispero (in McDonalds configuration)
Android Kiosk Software Supports Samsung Knox
Public access stations & apps can be securely locked down to prevent unauthorized access , and provide remote monitoring tools. KioWare Android does just that. KioWare also includes specific Samsung support for Samsung tablets. https://youtu.be/Ln_Zuv_wIvc
Kiosks for Self-Service Ticketing and more by Olea
You can see Olea kiosk in the Storm Interface booth nearby the KMA booth at 1602. Stop by and we will walk you over. For more information on Olea Kiosks you can email [email protected]
There are all the sessions, vendor parties, store visits, shows and all kinds of things to do in New York as part of the NRF Show when we all gather in NY again. Having now attended the Big Show for over 30 years, here are my thoughts on the best outside events to network and have fun. Come early, enjoy the networking in a less hectic manner and enjoy the event. Look forward to seeing you at the show or these events.
There are many events that recognize retailers, this one allows retailers to celebrate the retail vendor community. This gala style event does just that and is a great way to catch up with friends you have not seen for a while and celebrate together.
A unique event of business content and networking, all for a greater cause, to help orphans and vulnerable children. Retailers attend free and generate enough sponsorships to provide clean water for 300 people just by being there. 100% of the vendor sponsor proceeds go to help orphans and vulnerable children. This “Tech and Tears” event brings the industry together and has helped over 265,000 children in over 27 countries.
For retailers only, this exclusive event in the internationally acclaimed restaurant will include a power panel of retail executives including Kroger VP of Transformation, Wes Rhodes.
The Retail Insiders Party is retail’s class reunion! It may be difficult to locate friends at the show itself, but it’s easy to find them here! This cocktail event brings together senior technology and transformation. Simply wonderful get together, always a blast.
This is the hottest new party of the show this year. Having been honored as a RETHINK Top Influencer in the past, I am really looking forward to celebrating together as RETHINK Retail announces the next wave of influencers at this great event.
Come enjoy your retail colleagues as they jam at this amazing event. Amazing talent and you will come away saying that maybe some of these people should quit their day jobs. An absolute blast and great way to end a long day of networking.
So, there you have it…there are a lot of great vendor parties as well, but after 30 years of shows, these are my 6 favorite events to come together to celebrate, help kids in need, or just have fun around NRF.
Usually, shows are measured in business impact and specifically leads. Our booth at 1606 was at the entrance of the lower level which is the best position on the lower level. There are multiple ROI equations depending on the company and the person. Our point of view is geared towards a kiosk manufacturer or component provider. As far as leads go:
If we normally received 200 leads in 2020, then in 2022 we received 25
Booth visitors are made up of A) those who seek you out, B) those who stumble onto you interested and C) those who stumble onto you just going through motions.
Our leads were A and B class
Retail customer interest likely represented 10,000 store locations. That’s good.
Attendee traffic for the entire show was rumored to be a seventh of usual traffic (40,000 is total from 2020)
The optimistic operative phrase for NRF 2022 is the quintessential “It only takes one”
This page on legal decisions in self-service and related is a running log with personal commentary on legal, privacy and patent situations which impact unattended self-service. We keep track of legal news that affects the unattended self-service market. One of the best articles to monitor is Kiosk Accessibility: The Law is Paying Attention by Lainey Feingold. Another great source is Understanding The ADA blog by William Goren.
Legal actions can also be HIPAA violations of privacy data and also web accessibility (WCAG usually), which have financial and legal consequences. If you have news of note send us an email at [email protected]
Notable Legal Decisions and Related In Brief:
November 2024
Biometric lawsuit regarding shoplifting cameras moving ahead against Target. According to the lawsuit, Target uses surveillance cameras with facial recognition technology to monitor shoplifting. The plaintiffs claim that Target failed to inform customers in writing or obtain their consent before collecting biometric data. They also allege that Target did not disclose how the data is used, how long it is stored, or whether it is shared with third parties.
September 2024
Payments — DOJ Sues Visa – Wall Street Journal — Justice Department Sues Visa, Alleges Illegal Monopoly in Debit-Card Payments
Largest card network in U.S. blocked rivals through payments and higher fees levied on merchants, government says
Uber and Lyft Drivers Refusing Service Dogs — despite losing the verdict in a class action suit and promising to make good, the situation has only grown worse, according to reports. Now the DOJ is involved again.
June 2024
Kroger settles for 11 million in biometrics suit. Defendant has agreed to create a Settlement Fund for the Class Members in the amount of $11,782,800.00. Link to settlement
Accessibe is being sued for false promises. A high profile accessibility widget company made a lot of claims. Apparently someone is calling them out on not delivering what they promised. Key here is that this is a breach of contract sounding claim at heart. Essentially, the claim is that the buyer didn’t get what was promised or represented to them. Accordingly, it doesn’t matter that WCAG is not enshrined in law, though it sort of is for title II entities. The proposed class could include title II entities. See page 21 of complaint.
Dot up for another innovation award this time at SXSW. Tactile Pad for braille uses modern tech from Texas Instruments. Braille Innovation Awards SXSW – Braille Dot Pad
California Bitcoin Machines — Effective January 1, 2024, Senate Bill 401 (Chapter 871, Statutes of 2023), (“SB 401” which, alongside AB 39, constitutes the “Digital Financial Assets Law”) requires a digital financial asset transaction kiosk operator (“kiosk operator”) to provide the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“Department”) with a list of all locations of kiosks that the operator owns, operates, or manages in California.
Federal Register News — Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Additionally, the Department has issued a proposed rule addressing discrimination on the basis of disability in health and human services programs or activities. This rule would revise regulations under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to address unlawful discrimination on the basis of disability in HHS-funded health and human services programs. The proposed rule includes new requirements prohibiting discrimination in the areas of medical treatment; the use of value assessments; web, mobile, and kiosk accessibility; and requirements for accessible medical equipment, so that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to participate in or benefit from health care programs and activities that is equal to the opportunity afforded others.
ADA Supreme Court Amicus 1691684914749 Read the important amicus brief my colleagues and I filed with the Supreme Court yesterday in support of testing in #ADA cases. Testing is a long recognized and important tool in the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws! We also take time to debunk some harmful myths about ADA enforcement spread by the business community. My co-authors include Karla Gilbride, Amy F. Robertson, Thomas Zito and Justin Ormand.
July
Lowes self-checkout and cash back on debit card back in litigation
Voice recognition — GeoSymm Ventures LLC—an entity connected with a figure familiar in patent monetization circles—has initiated its first litigation over a portfolio of patents that the plaintiff received from Allied Security Trust (AST) in early June. In separate Eastern District of Texas complaints, GeoSymm accuses IBM (2:23-cv-00325) and Samsung (2:23-cv-00324) of infringing a single patent generally related to responding to a user request using “semantic web services” through the provision of their respective voice assistant platforms. At issue are features related to natural language processing and voice commands. In a third complaint, filed against PTC (6:23-cv-00493) in the Western District of Texas, the plaintiff asserts three patents generally related to using “digitally encoded markers” to position an overlay image in an augmented reality (AR) interface. The defendant is targeted over its mobile app, with features for positioning objects in an AR space at issue.
June 2023
Biometrics BIPA – $425K PetSmart BIPA Deal Receives Illinois Judge’s Initial OK — workers say they were required to use a voice-tracking headset without first providing informed consent.
Supreme Court to hear ADA case –Lawyers claimed that Laufer had filed over 600 lawsuits since 2018 targeting small hotels and bed and breakfasts and that the cost of litigating a case might put defendants into bankruptcy. “A cottage industry has arisen in which uninjured plaintiffs lob ADA lawsuits of questionable merit while using the threat of attorney’s fees to extract settlement payments,” Acheson’s lawyers said.
Apr 2023
Biometrics and Illinois – Christian Dior’s virtual “try on” glasses wins in Illinois under BIPA and facial recognition. Link
ADA Tester of Hotels SCOTUS to rule on — In the court papers, Acheson’s lawyers claimed that Laufer had filed over 600 lawsuits since 2018 targeting small hotels and bed and breakfasts and that the cost of litigating a case might put defendants into bankruptcy. “A cottage industry has arisen in which uninjured plaintiffs lob ADA lawsuits of questionable merit while using the threat of attorney’s fees to extract settlement payments,” Acheson’s lawyers said.
Mar 2023
US Supreme Court Backs Deaf Student — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a deaf student in Michigan to sue his public school district for allegedly failing to provide him adequate classroom instruction, a ruling that bolsters the ability of students with disabilities to remedy shortcomings in their education. From Willian Goren —
CVS and Dalton –– CVS class action claims blind, low-vision customers cannot independently use HealthHub kiosks. CVS Health Corporation failed to make its CVS HealthHub self-service kiosks independently usable for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Dalton vs. CVS Lawsuit Brief — Here are some pictures of Healthhub kiosks which are basically cheap mounted tablets. LINK
Biometrics and Maryland — link on Biometric Update – State of Maryland legislators are debating five bills (four cross-filed and one separate) addressing biometric and other private data collected by private organizations as part of doing business. Members of the Computer & Communications Industry Association issued a statement saying any legislation needs to be narrowly written to protect “high-risk practices,” although without spelling out what that means.
Employees, Biometrics & Fingerprints — White Castle facing a fine of $17B for violating privacy of employees with fingerprint scanner. On February 17, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court held that each scan or transmission of a person’s biometric identifiers is a separate violation of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). In Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc., 2023 IL 128004, the plaintiff was an employee at a White Castle restaurant. She alleged that White Castle, without obtaining the statutorily mandated consent, required her to scan her fingerprint multiple times each day to access company systems. The plaintiff argued that each scan since BIPA’s enactment in 2008 was a separate violation. White Castle argued that if any violation occurred, it was a single violation in 2008, when it first collected her fingerprints without obtaining proper consent. Thereafter, White Castle argued, each new scan was not a new “collection” of her fingerprints. By a 4-3 majority, the court agreed with the plaintiff that each scan was a separate violation. National Law Review, White Castle could face multibillion-dollar judgment in Illinois privacy lawsuit,
Nearly 2,000 lawsuits alleging violations of BIPA have been filed since 2017, yielding a series of massive settlements and judgments. Amazon, Facebook and others.
January 2023
Voice Recognition — Whole Foods Reaches $300k BIPA Settlement Over Voice Recognition Lawsuit — Whole Foods has reached a $297,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The lawsuit alleged that Whole Foods enrolled distribution center workers in a voice recognition system without properly obtaining consent and providing the necessary disclosures as required under BIPA. The settlement, which has received early approval from a state court judge, would see $545 paid out to each of the class action’s 330 workers.
A McDonald’s franchisee that fired an autistic employee who worked at several of the burger chain’s restaurants for 37 years has settled a civil rights suit in New Jersey federal court ($100K via Law360)
Opinion on NFB and Walmart (and Dalton) regarding supermarket checkout, perfect equality. Excerpt – The NFB decision illustrates one way to approach this problem. In NFB the Court decided that because there are no regulations for POS devices other than ATM’s public accommodations are not required to provide accessible POS devices. There is still an obligation to provide the auxiliary aids and services necessary for individuals with a disability to use the devices, but that can include human assistance because human assistance is a specifically recognized type of auxiliary aid and service.(8) Walmart and NFB ADA Title III and Point of Sale Devices – technology, regulation and changing expectations
November 2022
Fedex Settles In California – The terms of the preliminary settlement, agreed to in September, include FedEx paying $900,000 in attorneys’ fees and $20,000 to Kouri for a release of his individual claims. Over the course of the next four years, FedEx must also engage with an ADA consultant, train its drop box team in ADA compliance measures, survey each of its roughly 34,000 drop boxes, remove any access barriers and ensure that new drop boxes adhere to 2010 ADA standards.
ADA Settlement with Cinemark USA, Inc. Improves Accessibility of Enfield Movie Theaters – requires Cinemark to add ADA-compliant signage at exits and auditoriums, provide an accessible dining surface in the concession area, and acquire more receivers to use with its assistive listening system. The settlement also requires Cinemark to make numerous changes in the bathrooms, such as moving grab bars, removing a step up at a threshold, and making a bathroom door easier to open.
Accessible Website California Ruling — The case for this week is Martinez v. Cot’n Wash, a published decision from the Second Appellate District of the Court of Appeals of the State of California. The case involves an Internet only business that got sued by a person with a screen reader for an inaccessible website. Before bringing suit, plaintiff sent a demand letter. Notably, defense responded with their belief that the Internet site complied with the applicable WCAG level AA and asked for clarification from the plaintiff. Plaintiff then sues anyway. The Court of Appeals holds that the gateway principal rules in California and without a gateway the plaintiff has no case.
DOJ says NPRM on web accessibility will be issued in April 2023 — link
ADA Judgement News – Uber Commits to Changes and Pays Millions (actually $1.78)
Goren Blog on Airline Passengers Bill of Rights — link
DOJ Goes All in on ADA is a Nondelegable Duty — In the Statement of Interest, the DOJ goes all in on the ADA being a nondelegable duty. That the ADA is a nondelegable duty should not surprise readers of this blog because we previously discussed that here, and I return to the concept frequently.
May 2022
Telemedicine Lawsuits — Howard Industries is being sued by Capsa for patent infringement on its series of telemedicine carts. Seven different patents in play. Howard Industries Patent Suit
EV Systems Not Working — Of the 657 open public DCFC CCS EVSEs evaluated in this study, 72.5% were functional at the time of testing while 27.5% were either not functional or the cable was too short to reach the EV inlet. Effective compliance measures are needed for EV charging stations that are part of a court settlement or paid for with public funds.
The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Holiday Inn Express Hotels & Suites in Columbus, Ohio, owned by Badrivishal, LLC, Inc., that will provide access for customers at the hotel with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. The agreement requires the hotel to remove barriers to accessibility by making physical modifications so that parking, entrances, public restrooms, the front desk, drinking fountains, and routes within the hotel are accessible. The hotel will also ensure that the rooms, including bathrooms, that are required and advertised as accessible to people who use wheelchairs are accessible. The hotel will also pay $20,000 in damages to the couple harmed by the discrimination.
Class Action on Choice Hotels — plaintiff says Choice Hotels does not make its website accessible to the blind, violating the Americans With Disabilities Act.
How Will ADA Guidelines Impact Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations? — The ADA does not currently include specific guidelines for EVCSs, but they will still need to be accessible. Some variation of the ADA standards, such as those for parking, operable parts, and kiosks will likely apply to charging stations.
From Hospitality Net related — The ADA does not currently include specific guidelines for EVCSs, but they will still need to be accessible. Some variation of the ADA standards, such as those for parking, operable parts, and kiosks will likely apply to charging stations.
April 2022
Seven questions to determine lawsuit probability via BIPA (Illinois) — Biometrics – Questions to Ask BIPA FindBiometrics-Identity-School-BIPA-Checklist
Winn-Dixie Loses — On March 2, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied Winn-Dixie’s request that the full panel of judges reconsider a single Eleventh Circuit judge’s order dismissing the appeal and district court proceeding as moot. This ends what had been an over-six year saga in one of the most-watched website accessibility cases in the country. Here’s your Cliffs Notes version of this drama:
American Foundation for the Blind Calls Out the DOJ — The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), along with our colleagues at the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), and the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), urges the Department of Justice to finalize a rule on web and application accessibility before the end of the current administration.
New FAQ article from web developer group on WordPress accessibility from a web developer point of view and in their language. What about Accessible-rated themes and what are the characteristics to ensure (specifically).
ADA lawsuit filings at all-time high — here is the blog post analysis — Excerpt – plaintiff’s lawyers also filed hundreds of lawsuits on a new theory that hotels violated the ADA by failing to disclose sufficient information about their accessible rooms on reservations websites, the Seyfarth attorneys said. Also, cases alleging physical access barriers in facilities such as shopping centers, restaurants and hotels kept on coming – even in 2020-21 when indoor activities were often shut-down.
February 2022
DOJ and WCAG — The Justice Department today announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with Meijer, Inc., that will help people with disabilities get information about COVID-19 vaccinations and book their vaccination appointments online. The agreement, which requires Meijer to conform its COVID-19 vaccine content to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1, will help ensure that individuals with disabilities who use screen readers and those who have difficulty using a mouse can privately and independently book their potentially life-saving vaccination appointments online. Today’s resolution is the department’s fourth agreement on the critical issue of COVID-19 vaccination website accessibility, following a November 2021 settlement with Rite Aid Corporation; a December 2021 settlement with Hy-Vee, Inc.; and a January 2022 settlement with The Kroger Co.
DOJ — The Justice Department announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with The Kroger Co. to help people with disabilities get information about COVID-19 vaccinations and book their vaccination appointments online. The agreement, which requires Kroger to conform its COVID-19 vaccine content to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1, will help ensure that individuals with disabilities who use screen readers can privately and independently book their potentially life-saving vaccination appointments online. Today’s resolution is the department’s third agreement on the critical issue of COVID-19 vaccination website accessibility, following a November 2021 announcement of its settlement with Rite Aid Corporation and a December 2021 settlement with Hy-Vee, Inc.
The Justice Department entered into a settlement agreement with the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) to resolve an investigation conducted under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the agreement, the MTD must conform its website – www.mtd.org – and mobile applications to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Version 2.1, Level AA. Additionally, the MTD must invest a minimum of $100,000 to improve its services for passengers with disabilities. For more information on the ADA or this settlement agreement, please visit ADA.gov
Comments: Read the complaint. Interesting that the only two plaintiffs mentioned were people with foldable chairs. There are lots of mobility-impaired people who don’t use chairs that would have trouble with the two minute rule. I wonder if the blind or visually impaired would have trouble as well.
Comments: NPR article says as of last week, Uber is waiving the wait fee for anyone certifying, whatever that means, that they have a disability.
Law Review: $125M judgment against Walmart in disability discrimination case – Sierra Sun
Kaiser Health Organization, EEOC Reach $130K Settlement in Americans With Disabilities Act Case, paywalled — link
ADA considerations for inquiring about COVID vaccination status while you are interviewing potential new employees — JDsupra – 10/11/2021 — Here is another look at asking applicants — Link
Facial recognition litigation — Cedar Lane has now sued over 140 defendants and asserted nearly 50 patents (each received either directly or indirectly from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV)).
Companies win a couple of rounds on web accessibility — Intent to sue versus intent to use
Kiosk ADA — Quest Diagnostic Check-In Kiosks Under DOJ Scrutiny — Plaintiffs allege that Defendants require patients to use an electronic, self-service kiosk to check in, input personal information, choose where to wait, and perform other tasks. No staff are allegedly present in the check-in area, so patients with vision impairments must ask strangers for assistance or bring companions.
Broadening Right of Blind To Sue — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that two blind students have the right to use disparate impact theory — which requires plaintiffs only to show that a policy has a disparate impact on them, not that it was intentional — in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Community College District. If the ruling is upheld, a lawyer for the National Federation of the Blind, which joined the case, said it would be much easier to win discrimination cases based on disability.
Unethical ADA conduct – Uncaptioned videos at gas pumps — Lack of Sincerity
Mental health disability – The Justice Department entered into a settlement agreement with Brown University to resolve an investigation conducted under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Outdoor EMV Liability Shift Increasing — A CMSPI analysis found that chargebacks have tripled since January 2021. “If you look at January as the baseline month, May is almost triple of what January was in terms of overall chargebacks. There was a pretty substantial increase of about 50 percent in April, and that really ballooned in May,” Pynn said, explaining that chargebacks are often delayed because it takes some time for the consumer to realize the fraud and file a report. “The feedback loop takes some time.”
The California attorney general’s office started enforcing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on July 1, 2020. Does your app or website collect data?
ADA Lawsuits on track for 4000 in 2021. E-Commerce top of the list. Small companies now being sued more often. Widgets/overlays no protection provided.
Apparently, we now have a fully functioning DOJ or Department of Justice. Enforcing laws appears to be coming back into vogue. We know of many cases the DOJ has “expressed interest”, unlike the former. The prosecution probability index (PPI) has definitely risen in the last 3 months.
The big mysteries at this point is how a large number of franchisees ALL violate ADA. We can understand this ones or that ones but 139? And then, given 50 states why would McDonald’s choose to trial biometrics in the one state that has extensive laws surrounding it. Sometimes “bad law” can be created by bringing suit in an unsympathetic district court. Winn-Dixie is prime example of that.
One other trend that is noteworthy revolves around videos and specifically audio embedded. This can be actual audio track or it could be a narration. Multiple languages. Media from Amazon, Netflix, Disney come into play. Any description of services with visuals.
Samsung #1 in patent litigation (defendant). 4,282. Seesidebar image
Samsung – Click for full size
June 2021
Supreme Court upholds ACA — this impacts all types of healthcare technology — In the decision, the court reversed a lower court ruling finding the individual mandate unconstitutional. However, the court did not get to the key question of whether the individual mandate is severable from the rest of the law. Instead, the court held the plaintiffs do not have standing in the case, or a legal right to bring the suit.
Wendys faces ADA class action — from Law360 — A proposed class of consumers with mobility disabilities has slapped the owner-operators of 139 Wendys franchise restaurants with a suit in Wisconsin federal court, claiming they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying disabled customers full and equal access to the eateries.
CVS Exposed 1 Billion user data records — 204GB — the data exposed online included customer email addresses, user IDs and customer searches on CVS Pharmacy websites for COVID-19 vaccines and other medications, according to the report.
McDonalds Being Sued in Illinois for obtaining and storing biometric data from drive-thru customers. Voice captured then run thru AI engine.
April 2021
Winn Dixie Website Accessibility — Court rules grocery store’s inaccessible website isn’t an ADA violation — The Winn-Dixie website isn’t accessible for blind users with screen readers. The two-judge majority placed a lot of weight on the fact that the ADA only applies to physical spaces. In their view, a website is not a public accommodation as the ADA defines the concept. More info
How kiosks work is often asked question. Kiosks perform a multitude of functions in a multitude of verticals.
In this video the owner gives you and operational walkthru demonstrating the efficiency the kiosk brings to table. And seeing how important installation and service are to the equation. Seeing how it works is so much better than pretty blah-blah language describing it in usual marketing 101 terms (think hackneyed terms like “frictionless” or synergy).
The People’s Choice Family Fun Center upgraded to Semnox’s state-of-the-art systems, enhancing both guest experience and operational efficiency. With the introduction of RFID cards and self-service kiosks, guests enjoy faster, smoother visits, while the center saves on labor costs and boosts revenue!
John Sarantakis, President of The People’s Choice:
“Working with Semnox has been a great experience. During the conversion, they brought in their people making the installation seamless. We didn’t lose any revenue and that just doesn’t usually happen, especially when switching over to a new system.”
Watch the transformation unfold!
Editors Note — this unit won 1st place at IAAPA show in 2024 — 1st Place, Parafait Klassic Pro Kiosk – Session/Slots Bookings with Automatic Waiver Management Semnox Solutions LLC 2036 “Truly operator less, requires no labor, sell variety of products. Comes in variety of kiosk formats (outdoor, indoor, big). Robust technology.”
Redemption kiosks are commonly used in various settings to provide customers with a convenient way to redeem rewards, coupons, or loyalty points. Here are a few examples:
Casino Redemption Kiosks: These kiosks allow casino patrons to redeem their loyalty points for cash, free play, or other rewards. They are often located throughout the casino floor for easy access.
Retail Store Kiosks: Many retail stores have kiosks where customers can redeem digital coupons, loyalty points, or gift cards. These kiosks can also provide information about ongoing promotions and special offers.
Amusement Park Kiosks: In amusement parks, redemption kiosks are used for guests to redeem tickets or points earned from arcade games for prizes. These kiosks help streamline the prize redemption process and reduce wait times.
Supermarket Kiosks: Some supermarkets have kiosks where customers can redeem loyalty points for discounts on their purchases. These kiosks can also print out coupons that can be used at checkout.
Movie Theater Kiosks: Movie theaters often have kiosks where customers can redeem points from loyalty programs for free tickets, concessions, or other rewards.
These kiosks enhance the customer experience by providing a quick and easy way to access rewards and incentives.
Tagline – Shake Shack’s outlook for 2023: more locations, more sales—and drive-thrus
Looking for a $10 burger? Most chains cannot stop themselves from uttering the phrase “AI” or “robotics” for that matter. Interesting areas here are the relentless focus on drive-thru, kiosks improving margins (albeit cashless) and using kiosks to backfill in the kitchen. Not sure what that is.
Technically the “kiosks” are customer-facing order tablets (iPads) fixed on a counter. A lot like Panera (see below for some posts on Panera)
Excerpt
Click for full size – ipad kiosk shake shack
At the ICR conference, a three-day event run by ICR partners, the company announced plans to open 65 to 70 domestic and international locations in 2023,40 of which will be company operated and nearly 30 owned by franchisers. One key development in the works: more drive thru locations, which tend to boost sales
Currently the company operates 11 drive-thru locations, 9 of which opened last year. Each location should generate, the company said, more than $4 million in annual sales. That’s compared to $3.8 million at traditional company-owned stores. Operating profit margins should be on par or better than the company average.
A drive-thru in Orlando, Florida, opened last year and produced an average weekly sales of $86,000. It is on track to earn $4.5 million and “headed towards $5 million,” said Garutti. Operating profits were 20%, higher than the approximately 19% for stores in preliminary Q4 results.
Shake Shack uses tablet ordering terminals (pictured in the Yahoo Finance article.
NRN Sales and Margins — In terms of technology, most locations now have ordering kiosks, which improve margins and help reduce labor costs. He said most of the remaining 60 or so restaurants without kiosks will have them by the end of the year.
MSN — nice thing about kiosks is the automatic tipping push. Customers though are beginning to tire of the automatic add-on cost.
Yahoo and CEO talk—Now, if we take a closer look at some key areas of focus, CEO Randy Garutti outlined four in the earnings call. Labor is one of them, as the fast-food burger chain looks to focus on recruitment, retention, and training efforts. They’re also considering adding kiosks to help utilize labor in different ways, perhaps backfilling in the kitchen. However, they admitted that they have not been immune to staffing challenges.
One of the earlier examples of DMV Kiosks in supermarkets. You can tell my older design and smaller touchscreen.
The state’s first vehicle-registration self-service kiosk is proving quite a draw at a Westerville grocery store. Merritt Kimball of Worthington recently drove to Marc’s supermarket, 111 Huber Village Blvd., to sample the machine.
Kiosk users just swipe their driver’s license and credit card. The machine then provides registration stickers.
A total of nine self-service kiosks are planned as part of a statewide one-year pilot program allowing motorists to renew vehicle registrations and obtain license-plate stickers without having to stand in line at BMV offices.
DMV kiosks in supermarkets offer several benefits:
Convenience: They allow customers to complete DMV transactions while shopping, saving time and reducing the need for separate trips to the DMV office.
Extended Hours: Supermarkets often have longer operating hours than DMV offices, providing more flexibility for customers to access services.
Reduced Wait Times: Kiosks can help alleviate long lines at DMV offices by offering an alternative for routine transactions.
Instant Results: Many kiosks can print registration renewals and stickers on the spot, eliminating the wait for mail delivery\.
Accessibility: Kiosks are often equipped with features like language options, headphone jacks, and braille, making them accessible to a wider range of users.
These benefits make DMV kiosks in supermarkets a convenient and efficient option for completing various DMV transactions.
Mastercard and ZIVELO Leverage Artificial Intelligence and Voice Ordering
Sonic Drive-In will be first to pilot the new innovative voice AI powered ordering and dynamic menu experience at their drive-in locations
PURCHASE, NY — May 16, 2019 — Today, Mastercard announced a partnership with ZIVELO, a leader in self-service kiosk technology, to enhance the drive-in and drive-through ordering experience for quick service restaurants (QSRs) with a first-of-its-kind AI-powered voice assistant and personalized dynamic menu. Sonic Drive-In will be the first partner to pilot the new experience at selected Sonic locations in the U.S. this year. The technology will first be showcased at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago from May 18-21, 2019.
Upon arrival at the QSR’s drive-in or drive-through, consumers will be prompted to order from an AI-powered voice ordering assistant, which will integrate with a dynamic menu display. The menu will automatically update using a proprietary AI solution developed by Mastercard, which will allow the display to be customized either for a specific customer or for external factors such as weather, time of day, seasonality and location.
“We are excited to be partnering with ZIVELO to help QSR merchants further enhance their ordering experience to provide even more contextual interactions with their customers and ultimately allow them to get their food faster,” said Stephane Wyper, senior vice president, new commerce partnerships, Mastercard. “This builds on Mastercard’s continued focus on leveraging our payment, loyalty and analytics capabilities to innovate within the retail space alongside our merchant and technology partners.”
“We see facets of our brand, our restaurants, and AI technology converging in a way that makes for a special customer experience. Sonic is known for a fun environment and a full menu with extensive customization options that allows guests to personalize every meal,” said Jon Dorch, vice president of integrated customer engagement. “Voice AI promises to provide carefree conversational ordering that complements the overall experience. We anticipate AI integration will also provide opportunities to streamline repeat orders, personalize suggestions based on data, and offer rewards that are truly relevant.”
The artificial intelligence engine that powers the voice ordering experience to provide a dynamic menu was developed through Mastercard Labs and can be adapted for the needs of each specific merchant partner. The solution is built on OakOS, ZIVELO’s software operating system for public computing experiences, and relies on ZIVELO’s expertise within the self-service display industry, having successfully deployed tens of thousands of kiosks in restaurants to date. Mastercard also provides innovation support through an off-the-shelf voice AI solution for merchants that can be designed, developed and launched without significant effort, allowing them to quickly deploy the experience in-market.
“Drive-thru accounts for 70% of QSR transactions, yet the experience has remained more or less untouched by innovation,” said Healey Cypher, CEO of ZIVELO. “As customer expectation continues to move towards faster, personalized, and contextual experiences, we are excited to partner with Mastercard to bring this transformative solution to market and hopefully exceed those expectations.”
The voice ordering experience and dynamic menu solution was designed by Mastercard and ZIVELO to be flexible for each unique quick service restaurant environment. Additional partners will pilot the technology as it continues to roll out in 2019.
About Mastercard
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. Our global payments processing network connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.
About Sonic
SONIC, founded in 1953, is the largest drive-in restaurant brand in the United States with more than 3,600 restaurants. SONIC is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. For more information, visit SonicDriveIn.com and InspireBrands.com.
About ZIVELO
ZIVELO’s mission is to revolutionize the way brands use technology to interact with their consumers on-premise and in the physical world. Founded in 2008, ZIVELO has rapidly grown to become the leading self-service technology brand, offering a sleek and sophisticated product design, intuitive user experience, and cutting-edge modular hardware solutions. In 2018, ZIVELO acquired Oak Labs, the creators of OakOS – the world’s first operating system for public computing experiences. Through the acquisition, ZIVELO now provides brands with an end-to-end solution for the roll-out of kiosks and digital signage and is one of the only full-service kiosk providers to offer world-class hardware, software, services, and financing under one roof. ZIVELO is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, with offices in San Francisco and Seattle. For more information, please visit http://www.ZIVELO.com/.
Interactive kiosks have become such dynamic machines that they are able to handle nearly infinite numbers of business functions. It is important when planning a kiosk project that you clearly define the business objective for the kiosk as well as define the demographics of the group that will be using the kiosk.
iosk deployment, it is important to gather as much data as possible on current users of your services and to develop projections of estimated potential users of the new kiosk systems. In addition, it is often useful to create a schematic of your floor plan so that your kiosk manufacturer can work with you to determine the best solution for your needs.
After a new kiosk project is launched, the project typically is not finished. Once the kiosks go live, it is important to begin the data tracking and analysis phase. Kiosk software can be configured with advanced tracking software that can provide detailed information on a variety of usage statistics including total users, average session duration, transactions started/finished (for retail kiosks), and user goals accomplished (i.e. new accounts created, loyalty cards issued, wayfinding map requests, etc.).
