Kiosks can be used in more places and do much more than ever before – from fast food ordering in restaurants (e.g. McDonald’s) to integrated transport and entertainment ticketing.

Devices are now more robust and resilient and, as a result, are popping up in more locations. Kiosks are now being developed as hyper-efficient, with low energy requirements and instant sleep/wake up modes, some even offer solar-powered options that allow them to operate off-grid.

Kiosks come in all shapes and size too, with a whole raft of integrated features and functionality including touch screens, full-color displays, multimedia, voice activation and more. The one common capability they share, however, is that they can accept payment whether it be by card, contactless, and even by mobile.

Technology is reimagining unattended payments

Kiosks will have to work harder to deliver what modern retailers need (new revenue opportunity) and what consumers want (even more convenience). Luckily the technology needed to facilitate this is already here.

We now have internet-enabled kiosks, supported by managed platforms and run from integrated connected gateways, using cloud-based services. These are opening new opportunities and functionality for kiosks. Here’s a taster of what’s in store:

• Tokenization will play a star role

Kiosk owners need ways of letting customers feel in control of their experience but still being able to ‘connect’ with them. Increasingly, tokens will be used to customize the consumer’s journey and encourage uplift in sales by pushing real-time promotions and loyalty incentives.

• Kiosks will power cross-brand/location marketing

By using payment gateways to pick up tokens, retailers will be able to follow consumers outside their own channels and across multiple-brand journeys, creating ‘bundled’ experiences. For instance, a car park ticketing machine could alert nearby retailers and restaurants when a visitor arrives so that they can send an automated email, text or proximity alert for local offers and promotions to their mobile phone.

• Connected platforms will deliver hybrid virtual/physical services

Self-service installations will increasingly be used to straddle digital and physical worlds and provide hybrid services. Internet connectivity and touch screens allow users to browse inventory as well as order, pay, and redeem available rewards. Add-on devices and AI could be used to enhance the consumer’s experience, for instance, virtual mirrors for fashion and cosmetics.

• Smart kiosks will respond to real-time shopping patterns

Connected installations mean that data, software, and updates can be delivered to kiosks remotely, enabling retailers to be more in control and responsive to customer needs. With insights from kiosk-generated real-time reports, retailers can customize services remotely by switching functionality on and off and adding new features to reflect local trends, seasonal patterns, special events, etc.

• New self-serve ecosystems will embrace third party content and apps

There’s a real opportunity for kiosks to deliver multi-brand services making them important new revenue streams for their owners. Third-party content and advertising can already be enabled by platforms such as FreedomPay’s DecisionPoint Network (DPN). With new commerce platforms, providing separate environments for coding, testing and experimenting with external apps, we could soon see kiosks enriched with customer-facing services – e.g. concierge, curators, maps and travel guides.

Thanks to new platforms and technologies, it’s clear that kiosks now have the potential to become an integral part of the omnichannel sales experience and an important gateway to the new collaborative digital service ecosystem of the future.

This summer, FreedomPay joined merchants and payment solutions providers from around the world at RSPA RetailNOW 2016 in Grapevine, Texas, for high impact educational seminars, networking, and a few rounds of golf. Thousands of attendees gathered to learn and discuss the current state and future of the evolving point-of-sale technology ecosystem. Among the speakers was our very own Matt Donnelly, vice president of products and compliance, who gave a dynamic presentation on how FreedomPay’s advanced commerce platform provides omnichannel security solutions for smarter payments.

Swipe or chip? It’s more than just a popular meme, it’s the new complex payment landscape as retailers integrate multiple ways for consumers to make purchases, which also includes a tap option for mobile wallets. EMV (Euro Mastercard Visa) payments that utilize chip and PIN features for enhanced fraud prevention benefit merchants who’ve upgraded to the European standard, as they won’t be held liable for fraudulent charges. Although more secure than traditional swipe credit cards, EMV leaves card holder information exposed during transactions, fails to protect data during online or mobile purchases, and is PCI (Payment Card Industry) non-compliant.

FreedomPay specializes in providing merchants with secure transaction solutions with PCI validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) services. Our technology encrypts and protects data from point of interaction through transport and storage. To accomplish this, our system uses a process known as card data encryption during a transaction, transferring a string of alphanumeric code instead of the actual credit card information. FreedomPay’s secure platform unencrypts the card data and passes it to the card processors for approval from the bank. After approval or decline, FreedomPay then transmits a secure token back to the merchant for ongoing storage. Even in the event of a security breach, there would be nothing for a hacker to gain because no credit card data was ever actually transferred or stored, reducing merchant and consumer exposure.

Fast food restaurants, convenience stores, stadium concessions, and dining services are just some of the operations that can realize faster and more secured payments with PCI validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) solutions. Online commerce and tablet terminals (favored by food trucks, outdoor events, pop-up retailers) also make excellent use cases. At FreedomPay, we deliver value to merchants and customers alike by making payments seamless, intuitive, simpler – in a word, smarter.

Our presentation at RSPA RetailNOW 2016 was a rousing success, and we look forward to attending next year in Las Vegas as we remain at the forefront of next-generation technology and commerce.