New payment terminals to allow faster transactions for shoppers

SINGAPORE — Paying for shopping at stores under the Dairy Farm Singapore Group, such as 7-Eleven, will soon be a faster affair, once payment terminals that can take different cards are installed across its 650 outlets this year.

The 2,000 new payment terminals Dairy Farm is installing across its Cold Storage, Market Place, Jasons, Giant, 7-Eleven and Guardian Health and Beauty stores accept a range of payment modes, including Nets, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and credit and debit cards.

Typically, cashiers use different terminals, depending on the mode of payment.

In a media release, Dairy Farm said the new terminals would significantly shorten transaction time, especially at self-checkout counters, since shoppers would not be confused over which terminal to use. This, in turn, negates the need for attendants to step in, meaning they have more time to focus on other duties.

Customers will also receive a single receipt, instead of separate copies from the store and from their credit card payment.

The transaction process will be faster by nine to 11 seconds, which is 20 per cent to 30 per cent shorter, the retailer said, adding that this translates to productivity improvement of 106 hours a day for all its stores.

Dairy Farm’s move came after a successful trial of these terminals in Giant hypermarket at Tampines and Cold Storage supermarket at Tampines One.

The firm noted that the move is in line with the Government’s Smart Nation drive, and would accelerate the retail sector’s transition from using paper-based instruments to adopting electronic platforms.

Dairy Farm’s finance director Tom van der Lee said: “The implementation of the Unified Point Of Sale (POS) system significantly simplifies and shortens the payment process for our customers. It also has the added benefit of improving efficiency, which means that cashiers now have more time to focus on what is truly important — serving our customers.”

UOB’s head of Card and Payments in Singapore Choo Wan Sim added that by the end of the year, all the bank’s POS terminals will be unified POS ones.