Buypass Launches POS Software For Payments by Check or Card

Buypass Corp., a leading third-party point of sale processor, has introduced software that aims to simplify supermarkets' and retailers' handling of checks and card-based consumer payments.

The software, called Corporate Check Router, provides for check authorization services and gateway access to several types of consumer payment networks, including those for credit, debit, and electronic benefit transfer cards.

Scott Plumblee, director of sales for integrated systems at Buypass, said the software was developed in response to a trend in which supermarkets and retailers are moving to gain greater control over check payment processing and reduce related costs.

"A significant percentage of sales volume in supermarkets is still on checks," he said. "As the volume grows, supermarkets are looking to minimize check processing costs with in-house solutions."

When providing payment processing services for retailers, Atlanta-based Buypass - a unit of Wilmington, Del.-based Electronic Payment Services Inc. - typically charges a fee for each processed transaction.

With the Corporate Check Router, stores process check payments themselves and are charged only a corporate licensing fee for the software. Such an arrangement can be cheaper for the retailer, said Mr. Plumblee.

He said that the introduction of the new system is a "defensive strategy," enabling Buypass to protect the revenue it obtains from credit, debit, and EBT processing, while enhancing check processing revenue.

In essence, the company is taking check payment processing business away from itself, rather than having a competitor take it away, he said.

The company, which processes 10 million credit, debit, and EBT transactions per month, expects the new product to increase its current check transaction volume, which is less than one million items per month.

The Corporate Check Router resides at the retailer's headquarters. The system routes a check transaction to the check authorizer, which verifies approval. Check transactions are approved or declined according to customer profile maintenance parameters. The check authorizer then returns the authorization information for the store to accept or decline the check.

The complete system includes tracking of all check activity, a customer activity data base, returned-item processing, and the ability to set payment parameters based on customer categories.

The Unix-based system integrates all of a store's payment transactions on a single network, which concentrates communications and reduces costs, said Mr. Plumblee.

The Buypass network is a component of EPS' national network, offering access to all the major card networks and connections to more than 20 regional and national electronic banking networks.

The system, released in February, is installed at Bruno's, a large supermarket chain, based in Birmingham, Ala., with 265 stores in the Southeast.

Buypass expects to install three to four more systems this year, Mr. Plumblee said.

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