Hypercom Inc., a manufacturer of point of sale terminals, has unveiled a system to process a range of card transactions for large retail establishments.
The multilane electronic payment product, known as Quix, was developed through the Phoenix-based company's alliance with Mag-Tek Inc. of Carson, Calif., a developer of card and check readers.
Hypercom said Quix can process credit, debit, smart, and electronic benefits transfer cards as well as checks.
"We think we can do a lot with this," said George Wallner, Hypercom's chairman. "It will deliver not just pieces but complete solutions" such as interstore networks.
Quix will consist of point of sale terminals with an integrated check reader, pads for personal identification numbers, and signature capture devices.
Industry observers have noted that merchants with multilane checkout areas, like supermarkets, drug stores, and discount department stores, want to accept a wide variety of payment options but do not want to install different systems to handle each.
Hypercom said that in next year's first quarter it will begin to market Quix in the United States and abroad to drug and convenience store chains, as well as to supermarkets that use programmable electronic cash registers.
Alliance of Hypercom and Mag-Tek was formed in March specifically to market Quix. The partnership is one of several in what is considered a growing market segment.
Earlier this year Dallas-based Banctec Inc., a provider of check processing systems, formed an alliance with POS Technologies, a division of Southeast Switch Inc., to pursue this segment. Last year Card Establishment Services and National Transaction Network teamed up for similar reasons.
