Count Fiserv Inc. as a believer in the prospects of multifunction payment kiosks.
The Brookfield, Wis., vendor said Monday that it would offer its CheckFreePay walk-in bill payment service on ReadyStation kiosks operated by Ready Credit Corp., a two-year-old Minneapolis company that offers prepaid cards to the unbanked.
Ready Credit has deployed the kiosks at 55 retail, convenience, and grocery stores in six states.
Paul Harrison, senior vice president and general manager of CheckFreePay, said that even people without conventional demand accounts are comfortable automated payment systems.
"We feel the walk-in world is ready for the addition of that technology," he said.
CheckFree Corp., which Fiserv acquired last month, has been in the walk-in bill payment business since June 2004, when it acquired American Payment Systems Inc. from the New Haven, Conn., utility company UIL Holdings Corp.
Fiserv offers the CheckFreePay service through 11,000 agents.
The agreement with Ready Credit is Fiserv's first to offer the service through a kiosk, but CheckFree has several more in the works, Mr. Harrison said.
Bruce Cundiff, a research analyst at Javelin Strategy and Research of Pleasanton, Calif., said the deal could boost the reputation of walk-in bill payment kiosks.
"Putting kiosks in grocery stories seems more legitimate than working with the check-cashing companies that are often seen by the marketplace as not being on the level," he said.
The deal also offers an opportunity in expedited payments, Mr. Cundiff said. Fiserv will process kiosk payments on the next business day for $2.50 each or in three business days for $1.50.
"One of CheckFree's core strengths is the relationships it has with the biller community," he said.
However, kiosks have a checkered past when it comes to providing advanced financial services. Cardtronics Inc., the nation's largest merchant ATM operator, bought 7-Eleven Inc.'s fleet of 5,500 machines, including its 2,000 Vcom kiosks, in July. The Vcoms were not profitable for the Dallas convenience store operator, and Cardtronics has warned that if it cannot find a way to make them profitable, it would have to shut off their advanced capabilities.
Mr. Harrison said that he expects better results. "We do think this is the right platform that could start creating some traction in the consumer bill payment arena."
The CheckFreePay service will deliver localized biller lists to the kiosks, he said. Consumers will be able to pick a biller from the list, enter account numbers and payment amounts, and put cash into the machine to make payments.
Michelle Schuleman, Ready Credit's vice president of marketing, said it plans to offer walk-in bill payment at all its ReadyStation kiosks by early April.
The kiosk is a "reverse ATM" designed by NCR Corp. of Dayton, Ohio, to take in cash and instantly dispense a prepaid MasterCard issued by Palm Desert National Bank, a $358 million-asset unit of Palm Desert Investments, she said
Ready Credit plans to roll out more kiosks rapidly, Ms. Schuleman said, though she would not discuss specific details.
For three months Ready Credit also has had a cobranding deal with Macy's Inc. When shoppers are turned down for a credit card, sales clerks can offer them the prepaid option, Ms. Schuleman said.
The approach lets customers qualify for the same 15% discount that new credit-card holders receive on purchases, she said.
Few banking companies have tried to extend ATM functionality beyond dispensing cash, taking deposits, and providing account balances and history, but U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis is testing self-serve financial kiosks through its Elan Financial Services. U.S. Bancorp did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
