Charity is said to be at the heart of every community and thousands of people across Britain donate money to charitable organisations every year. In 2003 £7.1bn was given to charity by individuals in the UK, according to joint research by the Charities Aid Foundation and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. But offering spare cash to charities has become easier than ever for consumers, with ATMs now providing donation processes. According to an agreement reached between the ATM industry and government officials, British citizens can make charitable donations through the UK touch screen units. The program, which will launch in 2012, is in partnership between LINK the UK ATM operators and the British authority. It was cabinet officer minister Francis Maude who proposed the scheme in December 2010. Presently there are 63,000 ATMs in the country and 100-million LINK-enabled cards. The latest plan will mean people can donate to their favourite charity through the interactive machines but each ATM owner will decide which particular charities the machine will support. Maude said: “I am delighted by the support of LINK's member banks, building societies and ATM operators for enabling charity donations at cash machines. “This will make charity giving quicker and easier for so many people as they can incorporate giving into a regular routine.” Banks which will feature a charity donating kiosk include Lloyds TSB, Barclays, American Express Europe and more. Give to those who are less fortunate than yourself whether it is RSPCA, Sport Relief or Cancer Research via an ATM; touch screen technology at its best.
Month: May 2011
Kiosk Success: What Are The Bad Ingredients?
When baking a cake, there are certain ingredients to use that make the perfect mixture. With a sprinkle of sugar and a dash of icing you can create a delicious masterpiece, so long as the instructions are followed closely and to each and every step. Just as with cooking, a kiosk has many ingredients to make it a recipe success but if certain elements and items are added into the mix that are not required, the technology can fall flat. Too often kiosk technology is manufactured without the customer in mind, so to deploy an efficient and fruitful touch screen that is beneficial to all learn from some of these common mistakes.
The main reasons why kiosk projects fail are because…
– There are not enough kiosks installed so there are long waiting times. – The units are placed in inconvenient locations that are inaccessible to consumers. – The kiosk has poor browsing mechanisms that are frustrate and turn people off from using it. So here are some top motives and obstacles that wind consumers up and irritate them to the extent, that they become not interested in using your technology; and if a kiosk in unused then what is even the point in its deployment.
– A pinch of location
This is an important aspect of installation to ensure it is visible to all. If a customer cannot reach a kiosk or doesn’t even know where it exists, it won’t be used. Locate it in a prime location so people know where it is but also balance the concept so it doesn’t stand out too much and becomes an eye-sore.
– Sprinkle some presentation
Just as decorating the cake is vital, so is a kiosk appearance. Bad first impressions often put consumers off from ever returning so keep the interface software simple and the kiosk looking appealing to attract and engage with its users. Computers can be deemed as boring, time-consuming and often associated with work. Make the kiosk design have a toy-like quality with bright colours so it is less like an ATM machine and people are encouraged to interact with it.
– A dash of multiples
Many installations distributed throughout the store will ensure people are not waiting for long periods of time behind each other queuing. It will also reduce the fact that people have to walk a far distance to use the kiosk. As well as waiting to use a unit though, consumers don’t like waiting for the software. It can be frustrating lingering on the spot waiting for a page to refresh, so all browsing delays should be limited to less than 0.5 second and put multiple products on one page so the user doesn’t have to flick from screen to screen.
– A cup of privacy
In locations like a doctor surgery or healthcare facility, privacy is vital for patients especially in terms of medical records. A larger screen is ideal for customers who are partially sighted however to maintain privacy keep the screen small. So make sure you have all the ingredients for Touch screen success with Protouch.
Source: Whitepaper by RedDotNet
Self-Service Kiosks Launched In McDonald?s UK
The fast food industry is one of the quick service sectors to gain the most from deploying kiosk systems; to reduce waiting times and put the power in the consumer’s hands. Restaurant and take-away firms such as Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC would benefit immensely from installing touch screen units that would enable the customer to place and pay for their own order via the interface. Until now, kiosks haven’t really taken off in the UK as much as it has in America or other parts of Europe; that is in the fast food industry. A consumer could only order their chicken nuggets and happy meal deal from self-service kiosks in McDonald’s if they lived in France, where the concept was initially launched. However, now McDonald’s UK is embracing the technology. The fast food giant is employing 7,000 touch screen terminals and swipe cards across its European outlets. Steve Easterbrook, President of McDonald’s Europe, said the changes will make life easier for consumers as well as improves efficiency. He expects average transaction times for its two million daily customers will shorten three to four seconds. The technology aids to harness more information on customer’s ordering and dining habits as well as enable customers to pay simply by swiping a debit card; making the company the first fast food chain to introduce contactless payments. In 1200 of the UK locations, staff will also be hired to take additional orders from customers via handheld terminals.
Benefits of touch screen technology in fast-food restaurants include;
– Control of ordering process leads to better accuracy
– Single point of administration and reporting, hassle-free.
– Management costs are low, integration is easier than ever.
– New product placement exposes variety of menu and increases sales.
More Airlines Globally Invest In Check-In Touch Screen Kiosks
More and more airlines across the world are investing in Touch screen technology to check-in its passengers.
We wrote a blog post previously regarding airlines deploying kiosks in airports to improve customer satisfaction and better waiting queues. And now further companies nationwide are jumping on board the new trend and rolling out units to check travellers in.
Frontier Airlines has unveiled more high-tech kiosks across an additional 14 airports in America. Installed in Omaha, Orlando, New York, Grand Rapids, Philadelphia, Dayton, Colorado Springs, St. Louis, Atlanta, Albuquerque, Austin, Newark, Nashville and Seattle, the machines include all functionalities for passengers who haven’t already checked-in online at home, to use the kiosks at the airport.
The airline said that almost 70% of its passenger check-ins nowadays take place at a kiosk or online; so it makes sense to reap the advantages of the technology as is other airports.
Functions such as a touch screen interface and printer enables the holidaymaker to print off the receipt which is hugely beneficial for consumers who do not have a printer at home; as well as allowing the customer to allocate seat selections.
Frontier says the kiosks reduce labour costs and streamline the process and waiting times for passengers.
This is why Birmingham Airport, in England introduced an express lane too using our kiosks.
The units will improve the processing of its nine million travellers per year and give passengers a choice whether to be processed as per normal or to buy a priority pass from the machine.
The supplied kiosks will enable the nine million travellers that pass through the airport every year, to take advantage of a premium express lane and priority processing.
Similarly, the Kiosks had a touch screen and printer, as well as a chip and pin, coin and note acceptor, and change dispenser.
Let Protouch help your passengers print tickets off and check-in quicker; as well as check-in bags with tag-printing capabilities. It will save the industry billions of pounds a year and cut staff figure costs by a considerable amount.