The new tablet payment device called Albert is ready to be launched for mobile in-store purchases.
It looks like the Commonwealth Bank has introduced a game-changer beast by announcing a rather bulky tablet device that lets staff roam around and take EFTPOS payments anywhere in a store. The device, which is known as “Albert”, provides business insights too, as it collects data from customers.
Furthermore, Commonwealth Bank named a list of businesses that it has been working with on the Albert project. The list included David Jones and Amalgamated Holdings Limited, with several brands such as Event Cinemas, QT Hotels and Resorts, and Rydges Hotels and Resorts. There’s Keystone Group, Foot Locker, Mogas Regional and EasyFuel. Currently, these businesses were building customised apps for Albert, which would operate on the open-source platform, Pi Business Network.
The payments landscape is quickly becoming crowded with a range of digital payment options, including using smartphones and even smart watches. Devices such as Albert will let those payments take place where customers congregate, which could be away from counters. Gary Roach, the bank’s managing director payments & cash management services, said Albert would revolutionise the point of sale experience.
“Albert has the potential to dramatically shift the way businesses take payments, offering merchants the ability to completely customise the customer experience from start to finish,” he said.
It is predicted that “Albert” would be “a complete technological game-changer” for multiple business models. The loss of sales due to long queues at retail outlets cost Australian business more than a billion dollars annually. Not less than 73% of Australians had abandoned a purchase in a retail store because of the length of the queue. A majority of people, 55%, left a store if they have to wait more than five minutes. Based on the average price of an abandoned sale of $94, Australian retailers were potentially losing out on sales worth $1.2 billion a year.
Meanwhile, numerous key features are implemented in Albert, including the option to email receipts and invoices, split the bill up to ten ways, open a customer account that can be paid later, record and track daily, weekly and yearly payments, and compile business analytics and insights. On top of that, Commonwealth Bank stated Albert could help businesses recognise their most loyal patrons, let customers split the bill with ease, and put an end to lengthy queues at the counter by enabling staff to accept payments at the table, on the shop floor, or even offsite at an event or function.