Uxbridge, Middlesex-based VeriFone (UK) Ltd is launching what it claims is the first portable transaction terminal designed for electronic point of sale, the Tranz 420. The company claims portable terminals provide an alternative to the on and off line processing methods currently used for point of sale transactions. The Tranz 420 terminal removes the need for processing credit card purchases via data communication over dedicated telephone lines by using a cartridge to store details of a retailer’s transactions; the cartridge, which provides 256Kb RAM in addition to the terminal’s standard 32Kb, is taken to a bank or other financial institution, where orders can be processed electronically. The terminals use an operating system common to the that used for its existing transaction terminals, and a CCITT standard modem. Verifone will supply the machines to banks, which will then market them to customers. Barclays Bank Plc, which co-developed the Tranz 420, will be the first financial institution to take the terminals; the bank will initially use 1,000 pilot terminals. The company also claims that a number of European banks and credit card companies are interested. Verifone – the UK subsidiary of Redwood, California-based VeriFone Inc – says that the Tranz 4200 is particulary appropriate for point-of-sale applications in restaurants, market stalls and travel related applications such as airlines, trains and taxis. It is looking to have 20,000 terminals installed in Europe within a year, half within the UK; it sees initial penetration among small retailers put off by having to lease lines from PTTs. The UKP400 terminals are manufactured in Taiwan, though the software was developed in the UK.
