On their journey of creating innovative payments solutions, Diebold Nixdorf has created a brand new concept of payment terminals, powered by Tele2 IoT connectivity, called Albert. Albert payment terminal can be used in a lot of different areas, providing a better customer experience. Read the story about one of their first customers, a Swedish health tech start-up called Mittvaccin, addressing the challenges of the local vaccination market.
Diebold Nixdorf – developing innovative payment solutions
The introduction of paper banknotes, in 7th century China, revolutionized the exchange of goods and services, while the next big change came when universal credit cards were introduced in 1950. Point of Sale terminals further advanced how we pay for things when Visa introduced a clunky terminal in 1979, with magnetic stripes added for the first time that same year, allowing card information to be electronically captured. All this innovation has led to the payment terminals we are familiar with today, and as tech continues to accelerate and bring the physical and digital worlds closer together, the business volume of digital interactions and transactions in the societies is increasing and enabling new business models and opportunities. So, the question becomes this: how can you possibly add more value to payment systems when it seems like we’ve pushed them as far as we can? This is the question Diebold Nixdorf’s 23 thousand employees in 130 countries ask themselves every day – and then they get to work finding the answer.
With more than 3000 patents and 156 million dollars invested in R&D each year, innovation is at the heart of everything Diebold Nixdorf does. Voice recognition and iris recognition are just two groundbreaking innovations from Diebold Nixdorf, where the focus is on integrated mobile systems, such as self-service ordering in fast food restaurants. These innovations mean that Diebold Nixdorf terminals have 110 million transactions per month. Or, to put it another way, there are 42 transactions per second using Diebold Nixdorf hardware. Additionally, Diebold Nixdorf equipment boasts 99.9% uptime.
Those are all things to be rightfully proud of but even today we’re faced with some basic facts: In general, payment terminals are still the same payment terminals of 20 years ago, with small screens and traditional payment services. “Today, companies still use terminals where the only functionality is that you can pay with a credit or debit card,” says David Almgren, Services, Sales, and Solutions Manager at Diebold Nixdorf Nordic. “Some more advanced terminals allow contactless and mobile wallet payments but at the end of the day it’s just another way of paying. There is no added value.”
Albert – an award-winning payment terminal
This is where Diebold Nixdorf’s award-winning Albert solution is poised to become a game-changer. With the savvy, modern looks of a tablet, offers end-to-end solutions to banks and retailers. And Albert answers the question the Diebold Nixdorf has been working on: how to create a better customer experience via payment terminals while also taking them well beyond basic payments, keeping merchants engaged and creating new revenue streams. In addition to being a payment terminal, Albert offers a lot of added value for customers and retailers. These include introducing business apps that integrate to the business systems of the merchant for full access to required data, which enables a more personalized experience for the consumer, as well as providing a queue-busting solution, peak management, and personal assisted shopping that is mobile when compared to traditional point of sale solutions.
“In addition to card processing, Albert enables integration with new alternative payment services like invoices and installments. The system runs on Android so you can extend the customer experience to bold new heights,” says David . “When companies use Albert as their payment solution they can integrate it into their native apps and suddenly a whole new world of modern payments solutions and at their fingertips.” The consumers retail brand experience is important and offering services compared to competition is even more so. This is a revolutionary new payment system but it can’t work without the magical IoT ingredient: connectivity – and this is where Tele2 IoT comes in. Tele2 IoT provides the communications solution for every Albert machine in the field, allowing information to flow in both directions and essentially making it possible for both consumers and businesses to get the most value out of the payment terminal.
Mittvaccin – addressing the needs of vaccination market
A great example of company’s enjoying the benefits of Albert is Mittvaccin Journalsystem, the Swedish startup that is creating its own revolution, this time through connected healthcare. “Everyone can relate to vaccination,” says Mittvaccin Founder Joakim Backau. “But somehow it’s always been the individual’s responsibility to track their vaccinations and make sure they’re up to date. Mittvaccin decided to change the status quo. “I kept asking myself if it was possible to use technology to improve efficiency, while making things easier for both healthcare workers and patients.”
Mittvaccin delivers by allowing patients to make their own bookings and complete health declarations via the app, while automatically sending reminders via text or email. The system increases patient safety, while enhancing administration and allowing for better documentation and follow-up of vaccination activities. The vaccination market in Sweden is big, with more than 4.5 million doses dispensed each year in a country of 10 million.
The Swedish healthcare system 11-77 Vårdguiden (Sweden’s Healthcare Guide) is integrating Mittvaccin, and by the end of 2018 there will be more than 100 clinics and pharmacies using the Albert solution, which is an all-in-one card terminal, receipt printer, and inventory. There’s also also a business app running on Albert and an app for the consumer to manage vaccinations and bookings. Additionally, the Swedish Travel Council is integrating the system, with staff receiving real time recommendations directly from the Council’s database. The ease and speed of the system means not just satisfied patients, it also allows healthcare workers to focus on more patients, thereby increasing profitability. Statistics show that automatic reminders alone increase visits by up to 25%, meaning more patients are getting vaccinated in a timely manner.
The secret ingredient in making all this work smoothly is Albert. Mittvaccin can be supplemented with Albert, a solution that is compliant with regulations set by the Swedish Tax Agency. Vaccines and data, such as products, health care journals, and batch numbers, are automatically and securely transferred, allowing real-time monitoring from both the customer perspective and the business side of things. This allows healthcare workers to make on-the-spot recommendations and allows patients easier access to their health records.
“When you register you are connected via mobile ID,” says Joakim Backau. “The app receives all the necessary information, such as your address, but doesn’t not get your phone or email. What it allows patients to do is to see your health history, as well as make bookings for yourself and your family, streamlining the whole process, because when you arrive for your vaccination all your information is already there.”
Joakim Backau is on an even bigger mission than making vaccinations easy to track and get – he wants to support Sweden in becoming the best e-health country in the world by 2025 – something Albert and Diebold Nixdorf plans to be a part of.