Consumer-electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. is partnering with Tio Networks Inc. to deploy self-service bill-payment kiosks in stores in four cities as part of a pilot to determine whether they encourage more foot traffic.
Best Buy has deployed 35 kiosks in 35 of its stores in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix, says John Lewis, manager of Tio Networks business development. Tio, which is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, supplied the kiosks, which were made by a variety of manufacturers, Lewis says.
The pilot, which began three months ago, will determine whether Best Buy customers are comfortable using kiosks to pay cellular telephone, cable and utility bills, Lewis says. The touch-screen kiosks enable users to access their account information from billers by typing in their Social Security number, cellular telephone number or Best Buy store-account identification number. Once the consumer pays his bill, the kiosk prints a receipt or sends it to the customer’s e-mail address.
Tio’s kiosks are connected to 30-expedited billers, including AT&T, Cricket wireless and San Francisco-based utility Pacific Gas & Electric, Lewis says.
Consumers can pay their bills using cash or a PIN-debit card, and Tio posts the payment immediately to the biller’s account, Lewis says. Best Buy charges customers $3 to $5 per transaction. U.S. Bancorp’s Elan Financial Services processes the payments for Tio Networks.
Self-service bill-payment kiosks tend to appeal to customers who pay their bills using cash on the due date, Lewis says. “In this economy, consumers pay their bills much closer to the due dates,” he says.
Retailers hope when consumers visit a store to pay bills they also will shop, Lewis says.
Officials from Best Buy, which is based in Richfield, Minn., did not return calls seeking comment.
