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Tio Networks Corp. has expanded the number of bill-payment kiosks it deploys in Texas, which has become a strong market for the company.
Burnaby, British Columbia-based Tio says it has deployed bill-payment kiosks in 26 participating H-E-B stores throughout Texas. H-E-B, or H.E. Butt Grocery Co., is a privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio that has 310 stores throughout the state.
The kiosks enable H-E-B customers to use cash to pay cellular-telephone, utility, cable and other household bills. Consumers select the biller and then feed cash into the machine's bill-note acceptor. Once the payment is accepted, Tio uses its Internet link to post the payment to the biller's account, Hamed Shahbazi, Tio's founder, chairman and CEO, tells ATM&Debit News.
Tio has direct-payment agreements with 40 billers, including Cricket Wireless, Cox Communications, San Antonio Water System and Memphis Light, Gas and Water. The kiosks, which Tio purchased from Tranax Technologies Inc. and Kiosk Information Systems Inc., display billers' trademarks so consumers know the kiosks are company-authorized payment centers. Tranax and Kiosk charge Tio up to $10,000 per kiosk, depending on the services the machine provides beyond bill payment, Shahbazi says.
Tio charges consumers convenience fees ranging from $1 to $3 if the company has a direct-payment agreement with a biller, he adds. The company boasts of the kiosks' ability to quickly post payments to billers' accounts.
Expedited payments appeal to some consumers, especially those who pay their bills close to the due date, says Kate Monahan, an ATM analyst with Boston-based Aite Group.
"I definitely think bill-payment kiosks are a growth market," Monahan says.
If Tio does not have a direct-payment agreement with a biller, it sends the payment to a bill aggregator.
The aggregator posts the payment.
Tio charges consumers a convenience fee of as much as $5 to send a payment through a bill aggregator.
The deal with H-E-B continues Tio's expansion in the Lone Star state.
Tio deploys 202 machines in Texas and 1,386 bill-payment kiosks nationwide.
Besides H-E-B stores, Tio has installed 150 bill-payment kiosks in ExxonMobil stations and 26 in Circle K convenience stores in Texas.
"Texas has become a lucrative market for us," Behshad Hastibakhsh, a Tio spokesman, says. "A large percentage of our customers prefer to pay their bills in cash at the last minute in cash." ATM
