Thales Portable POS Fits The Bill For Restaurants

The POS solution provider is targeting its Artema Portable handset at high-end, or "tablecloth," restaurants with hopes of putting credit-card payments directly in customers' hands.

"The terminal is the implementation tool that makes [payment transactions happen," said Fred Silverman, CEO of Thales, based here. "And there's a lot of software that goes with the easy-to-use hardware. We've been able to grow because we have a good base of equipment."

Thales, a subsidiary of Europe-based Thales Group, produces and markets POS products and services to the financial, retail, restaurant, health-care and leisure industries in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The company employs about 3,000 people and operates in six regions in the United States.

POS hardware is a natural extension of Thales' core business of security solutions, Silverman said. The company's technology has been used in an array of applications, from toll collection by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority to production of communication radios used by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan.

For the retail and restaurant businesses, Thales produces the Artema Portable POS terminal, which features a 32-bit microprocessor, multitasking capabilities and expandable memory, Silverman said. The product also has scrolling menus, navigation keys and a multiline graphic screen. Both the screen and keyboard are backlit, allowing for use in restaurants with dim lighting.

Since customers' credit cards never leave their sight, there's less risk of card mix-ups or identity theft, Silverman said. Bringing the terminal to the table also cuts down on the amount of time required to complete a payment transaction, he said.

"This model lets the restaurant bring the terminal right to the table, without wires," Silverman said. "You can do the transaction right there, and the card never leaves [the customer's hand."

Up to four handsets can communicate with a single base from more than 100 yards away. Multiport kits are packaged and priced in various ways to appeal to different restaurants.

The terminal can also be expanded with software and used to accept debit/PIN transactions, which are typically less expensive to process than credit-card transactions for the same amount.

While the Artema Portable is marketed to higher-end restaurants, Thales also makes the Talento, which Silverman described as a "bread-and-butter" terminal featuring a 16-bit chip and multitasking operating system.

With Talento's restaurant application package, patrons can pay by credit or debit card, paper or electronic check, or smart card. The terminal can also be used to process orders placed by mail or phone. For transactions requiring PIN entry, Talento offers either an integrated or a handheld PIN pad.

"Talento satisfies 99 percent of merchant requirements, and it's easy to train a clerk [on the product," Silverman said. "Training is especially important because while terminals are wonderful, it can be horrendous getting people to do the right thing with them."

Pricing varies for the Artema and Talento lines, Silverman said. Thales works with channel partners in the restaurant space, such as banks, credit-card com-

panies and independent sales organizations, to install and maintain the terminals.

Thales packages its POS solutions and sells them to channel partners, who then negotiate specific deals with restaurants. For instance, Global Payments, an Atlanta-based partner, provides deployment, transaction processing, training and customer support services for Thales' Talento terminal.

Barry Lawson, CIO of Global Payments, said restaurateurs, in particular, are responding positively to features of the Talento package such as central cashier processing and tip tracking.

"The addition of the Talento platform has helped to diversify Global's product line," Lawson said. "It allows us to provide merchants with a broader selection of terminals."

Next, Thales will market the newest version of its Artema terminal, which features CDPD capability and is aimed at servicing mobile businesses such as limousine services.

"This [terminal allows credit-card transactions that are mobile," Silverman said. "So the terminal acts as a cell phone and [gives mobile businesses more choices [as to how they're going to be paid."