EFTPOS-at-home

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EFTPOS-at-home

Auckland – 18 July 2001: New Zealanders will soon be able to pay their bills, via an in-home swipe card phone, following the successful trial of the world’s first debit / credit domestic payment terminal system.

The system has been developed and implemented by POS Power, 50:50 Joint Venture between Cadmus and TrustPower and will be rolled out by TrustPower to selected customers in the short-term.

The development of the new POS Power phone system will enable people to pay for services such as power, gas, phone, pay TV, videos or the internet, by EFTPOS or credit card.

Currently, the phone payment system will allow selected TrustPower customers to pay their power bill from their own home. It can also be extended to allow them to pay other household bills (i.e., gas, phone bills), purchase convenience items, order and pay for takeaways, surf the internet and send and receive emails.

“Customers using the device will be in full control of how much electricity they use and when they pay,” says POS Power Director and Cadmus Managing Director, Ian Bailey. “They’ll be able to see discount rates on the phone display and consequently run appliances at cheaper price times. It also eliminates the need for meter readers.

“Power bills and due payment dates are a thing of the past. Customers can prepay bills and get an update on the power used, or pay their bill as it falls due.”

The system will also provide immediate benefits for TrustPower by decreasing administrative costs associated with monthly customer billing and meter reading.

The company expects to install 1,000 of the units in the Ashburton and Marlborough regions by December.

“With over 38 million EFTPOS transactions handled by Electronic Transaction Services Limited (ETSL) each month in New Zealand - representing more than 450 million per year - and an increasing trend for customers to pay by a debit or credit card, there is a significant opportunity for a smart home use application,” says Mr Bailey.

“The product has already attracted international interest in the Asia Pacific market, because no other comparable solution exists. This trial will provide a valuable point of reference for winning future international business.”

Other major parties involved in the project have been WestpacTrust and ETSL.

“WestpacTrust and ETSL have proven to be dynamic, easy to deal with and highly capable of meeting our requirements in a speedy manner,” says Paul Harper, General Manager for Business Development at Cadmus Technology Limited. “Significantly, this allows us to maintain high levels of service and support for customers using this new service.”

The POS Power system connects to specific TrustPower power meters, which allows for on-line power monitoring and charging based on half hour increments. The display shows regular daily updates of power usage, the credit dollar balance and advises when the balance needs to be topped up by the customer.
The POS Power phone system also has a high level of security and meets all of New Zealand’s stringent banking requirements.

Cadmus has branches in Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch.

ENDS

About Cadmus

Cadmus Technology Limited is an end-to-end payment solution and data management services provider. It operates a number of unique interfaces into the NZ EFTPOS infrastructure enabling the capture and processing of information relating to customer spend, as well as the processing of in-house and private label cards.
Clients include the Vodafone Warriors Rugby League, Bartercard, Stihl, TrustPower, and many of the major motor vehicle importers and distributors.
Cadmus has a 50% interest in POS Power Limited, via a joint venture agreement with TrustPower, a 50% interest in a joint venture with E-Smart Card Technologies Limited and a 4.55% strategic shareholding in Insight Technologies (Asia Pacific) Pty Limited.
For more information, please visit www.cadmus.co.nz

About TrustPower

TrustPower is a nationwide generator and retailer of electricity with over 280,000 customers. The company’s head office is based in Tauranga, with regional offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

For more information, please visit www.trustpower.co.nz

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