PayToo, a mobile wallet provider, plans to launch kiosks that will give its users the ability to withdrawal cash without needing a traditional debit card, ATM Marketplace reports.
The kiosks have a touchscreen of six services, including cash deposit. Our PayToo kiosks allow users to pay bills, transfer money, buy gift cards, access our digital content catalog of music and movies and provide a free Wi-Fi spot. And the gift cards are cardless, so family members can be given access to them as a gift and no card is needed. We present our first kiosk in Orland in August, then in September it will be shown at the ATM&Mobile Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C.
This is not the first time that full service kiosks have been put in the marketplace, but it does appear to be the first attempt to pair kiosk services with a mobile wallet. Convenience chain 7-Eleven offers Vcom terminals that provide check cashing, bill payment and money transfer services. ATM provider Cardtronics Inc. bought the kiosks as part of its deal for the 7-Eleven ATM operations in 2007. VCom struggled to make a profit until Cardtronics repositioned the units and overhauled the business. Tio Networks also offers bill payment kiosks in the U.S. and Canada.
Still, kiosks pose challenges for operators and program managers. Good placement is critical and potential customers need to be educated on how to use the kiosks. They must also be designed to operate efficiently so that host locations do have long lines of kiosk customers who want help that clerks can’t provide.
One of the hurdles for mobile wallets is that before now, they have been unable to provide cash access. If this gains enough attention and adoption, it could force other mobile wallet providers to follow PayToo’s lead.
Overview by Ben Jackson, Director, Prepaid Advisory Services
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