Posted on Thu, Mar 24, 2011
Tailwind Solutions Ltd, the Scottish based Point of Sale Innovation company, have teamed up with West International AB to promote and distribute its secure mounting solutions for PIN Entry Devices (PEDs) throughout Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.
Garry Knox, founding Director of Tailwind Solutions said “In West International we have found a partner that shares our philosophy of innovating to provide cost-effective solutions to the everyday concerns of retailers. Our SafeBase product set is gaining significant traction in the Scandanavian market and, thanks to the efforts of everyone at West, our first major rollout has already been completed.
“It is a real compliment to Tailwind that our products are so highly thought of in Scandanavia which has always been a hotbed of innovation in the Point of Sale sector. We look forward to working with West International on this and many other projects in the future.”
Due to its inherent security features, its flexibility and extendibility, West International sees huge potential for SafeBase throughout Scandanavia.
Sten Karlsson, Managing Director of West Internatonal, added “Tailwind Solutions clearly understand the issues facing retailers today and their knowledge of and long experience in the point of sale sector has been designed into their excellent SafeBase product. It is a real pleasure to promote such a well-designed and intuitive product to our markets. Based on our initial feedback, we expect SafeBase to be a very popular product across Scandanavia and we look forward to many years of close co-operation with Tailwind.”
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About Tailwind
Tailwind Solutions is the Scottish based Point of Sale Innovations company dedicated to providing solutions that meet the critical needs of retailers today and tomorrow through delivery of innovative and quality products.
Tailwind believes innovation is the key to driving out inefficiency and cutting operating costs but also to creating additional value for the retailer. With this philosophy in mind, Tailwind works closely with a range of international partners to develop and market such solutions and through these relationships has sold product all around the world.
Our solutions are borne from clear and defined market needs and are developed in consultation with partners and forward thinking customers to ensure that quality is designed in at the earliest possible stage.
Find out more at www.tailwind-solutions.co.uk
About West International
West International AB (West) is a Sweden-based company active within the information technology (IT) services and IT-related hardware segments.
West develops, sells and supports integration solutions, software and hardware, as well as complete system components and products, to the Retail, Hospitality and Banking sectors.
It supplies system integrators, software houses and resellers both domestically in Sweden and internationally. The Company’s product portfolio consists of two groups, Distribution and Solutions.
For further information contact Garry Knox +44 (0)7947 690057
Posted on Sat, Mar 12, 2011
Tailwind Solutions Ltd, the Scottish based Point of Sale Innovation company, has teamed up with French technology company GMX to resell its YouTransactor hand held product in the UK and Ireland.
The YouTransactor hand held is a leading edge product that provides PDA, SmartPhone and Chip & PIN capability in a single, compact device.
Mark Stewart, founding Director at Tailwind Solutions said “Until now, the search for an affordable and practical mobile device which provides a multi-application platform alongside Chip & PIN capability has been like the quest for the Holy Grail. Previous attempts have either been impractical, non-functional or, at best, far too expensive. YouTransactor, however, addresses all these issues resulting in an extremely compact and competitively priced solution.
“The potential applications for such a device are numerous; from queue-busting in the retail sector, to order and bill management in the hospitality sector, to ticketing, delivery and beyond. YouTransactor provides the ideal platform for any mobile application.”
Gerard Compain, Managing Director of GMX, the technology company behind YouTransactor, added “We believe our product is a winner in terms of price, functionality and form-factor. However, every product needs a good salesman too. We approached Tailwind because of their unrivalled knowledge of and contacts in the UK card payments sector but also because of their track record in innovative solutions. This combination made Tailwind the ideal partner for us in the UK and Ireland and we are delighted they agreed to act as our agents.”
Further information on YouTransactor can be found at http://www.tailwind-solutions.co.uk
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About Tailwind
Tailwind Solutions is the Scottish based Point of Sale Innovations company dedicated to providing solutions that meet the critical needs of retailers today and tomorrow through delivery of innovative and quality products.
Tailwind believes innovation is the key to driving out inefficiency and cutting operating costs but also to creating additional value for the retailer. With this philosophy in mind, Tailwind works closely with a range of international partners to develop and market such solutions and through these relationships has sold product all around the world.
Our solutions are borne from clear and defined market needs and are developed in consultation with partners and forward thinking customers to ensure that quality is designed in at the earliest possible stage.
Find out more at www.tailwind-solutions.co.uk
About GMX
GMX YouTransactor is the designer and marketer of a very innovative and secure mobile commerce tablet for sales force automation and independent professionals.
Whatever mobile business you are in; Retail, Hospitality, Banking, Healthcare, Lottery, Transportation ...
--> Run your Web applications
--> Capture data for goods ID and people ID
--> Accept card payment complying with banking security standards,
Using friendly and simple interactions, and a pocket-sized secure tablet.
www.youtransactor.com
For further information contact Mark Stewart +44 (0)7947 629900.
Posted on Thu, Feb 24, 2011
Farmfoods, one of the UK's leading frozen food retailers, with headquarters in Scotland, has rolled out Tailwind Solutions’ innovative SafeBase product across all its stores as a key part of its Point of Sale (PoS) Systems upgrade.
SafeBase, part of Tailwind’s PoS Paddle product family, is a secure mounting solution for Chip & PIN devices, which protects them from unnecessary wear and tear and theft by potential fraudsters.
Garry Knox, founding Director at Tailwind said “We are delighted that Farmfoods has chosen the PoS Paddle SafeBase as its Chip & PIN mounting solution. Already the product is proving very successful in major retail accounts internationally, and now Farmfoods has become one of the first major product rollouts in the UK.
“Farmfoods confirmed the experience of other major retailers that the product is simple to install, simple to use and delivers enhanced protection of their assets, staff, customers and, ultimately, their reputation.”
Mark Haggerty, Farmfoods IT Manager added “I was impressed by the SafeBase and thought it had several advantages over other products. As the solution was simple to install, we were able to achieve a rapid rollout and immediately realise the benefit to both staff and, more importantly, to our customers; there’s also peace of mind in the SafeBase’s additional security and future-proofing features – the simple add on option to move to contactless payment is of particular interest.”
Tailwind has several other big deals nearing completion, and is actively growing its network of resellers and distributors.
Mr Knox added “Wherever we take our product it gets a great reception – retailers immediately see the benefits and recognise how we can help maximise the return on their investment in Chip and PIN; our passion is to deliver the best possible value, which means products that meet retailers' needs now and which gives them a platform for easily adopting new payment technologies, such as Contactless Card and Near Field Communication Readers, as they emerge.”
Jim Torrance, Sales Manager for Dacoll who brokered the Tailwind / Farmfoods deal has great hopes for the product. He said “Tailwind’s SafeBase is the kind of product that can open doors for Dacoll. It is simple and inexpensive yet very innovative and my clients see the benefits it can bring to their business instantly. The team at Tailwind know the card payments market inside out and their ability to harness new ideas and technology to add value to retailers’ businesses makes them a very valuable partner.”
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About Tailwind
Tailwind is a Strategic Marketing Consultancy that specializes in helping bring new products to market. Typically working with start-ups, OEMs and organizations wanting to enter new markets or develop new products, Tailwind has over 40 years combined experience in high-tech marketing, product management and business development, with specific expertise in card payments.
About Dacoll
Dacoll deliver a complete range of I.T. services supporting the critical systems that organisations rely upon. Services ranges from Facilities Management and complimentary outsourcing, to simple hardware break fix. Dacoll provide PoS maintenance support for many thousands of lanes of major retailing organisations throughout the U.K. www.dacoll.co.uk.
Posted on Tue, Oct 27, 2009
Tailwind and ViVOtech Team Up To Integrate New Contactless Payment Reader Modules into Legacy POS Systems
Cost-Effective Chip And PIN Hardware Upgrades Allow Retailers To Deliver Better, More Secure Customer Experience By Adding Contactless Payments To Existing POS Terminals
SANTA CLARA, California and DUNFERMLINE, FIFE, Scotland (27 October, 2009) — ViVOtech, the leader in near field communication (NFC) and contactless payment systems, and Tailwind, a leader in strategic marketing in the payments industry, have signed an agreement to develop and deploy joint solutions that will enable retailers to meet the demand for contactless payment systems. Tailwind and ViVOtech will integrate contactless payment readers into existing Chip and PIN devices using Tailwind’s patented “POS Paddle” universal Pin Pad mounting solution and ViVOtech’s best-selling ViVOpay line of contactless payment readers.
Having just invested in the mandatory upgrade to Chip & PIN, retailers are looking for ways to leverage this investment into the future by enabling them to accept contactless cards and NFC mobile phones. Tailwind’s PoS Paddle allows retailers to upgrade their existing Chip & PIN systems to accept contactless payments with minimum cost and disruption. The PoS Paddle integrates the ViVOpay contactless reader module with the Chip and PIN terminal, turning them into one single customer-facing unit and a single point of interaction. This saves valuable counter space. PoS Paddle is also fitted with a key lock to restrict the removal of the PIN Pad, a requirement that is becoming standard in most EMV countries in Europe.
“Retailers want to adopt contactless technology, but they also want to make sure they can leverage their investment in Chip and PIN devices, and give their customers an ergonomic and intuitive point of interaction,” said Garry Knox, Founding Director of Tailwind. “Our partnership with ViVOtech allows us to provide retailers with the best contactless payment modules directly integrated with their existing systems in one single package.”
The ViVOpay line of contactless payment readers is the best selling line of contactless reader products worldwide. The readers have been deployed in over half a million POS locations, including several Tier 1 merchants such as major specialty retailers, fast food restaurants (QSR), movie theaters, casual dining establishments, convenience stores, gas stations, drug stores, grocery stores, and thousands of buses, taxicabs, kiosks and vending machines.
“Contactless adoption by retailers is growing worldwide. That demand comes not only from the desire to accept easy and convenient contactless cards, but also from the desire to be ready for the upcoming NFC mobile payment revolution,” said Mohammad Khan, ViVOtech president and founder. “ViVOpay readers will enable existing Chip and PIN devices to accept not only contactless and NFC mobile payments, but also to offer advanced merchant loyalty programs such as mobile promotions, vouchers and rewards.”
***
About ViVOtech ViVOtech (www.vivotech.com) is the market leader in Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payments, promotions and over-the-air (OTA) provisioning infrastructure software, transaction management software, NFC smart posters, and contactless terminals. ViVOtech’s products are used by most prominent retailers all over the globe; the company has shipped over 500,000 contactless terminals to more than 35 countries. In 2009, ViVOtech received the prestigious Frost and Sullivan North American Smart Cards Product Line Strategy of the Year Award. ViVOtech’s investors include Citi, First Data Corporation, Motorola Ventures, NCR, and Nokia Growth Partners.
About Tailwind Tailwind (www.tailwind-solutions.co.uk) is a Strategic Marketing Consultancy that specializes in helping bring new products to market. Typically working with start-ups, OEMs and organizations wanting to enter new markets or develop new products, Tailwind has over 40 years combined experience in high-tech marketing, product management and business development, with specific expertise in card payments.
Posted on Mon, Feb 09, 2009
STS and Tailwind Solutions make affordable contactless payments a reality for retailers, compatible with existing Chip and PIN infrastructure.
London, February 9th 2009: Smart Technology Solutions Limited (STS), an innovator in smart card solutions, today announces its partnership with Tailwind Solutions to provide a cost effective and seamless contactless payment technology. Tailwind Solutions and STS have pioneered a unique technology and by using leading payment integrators, including Secure Retail, offer retailers a quick, cost effective solution to roll out contactless card readers. Retailers can capitalise on their existing Chip and PIN investment without losing valuable space at the point of sale.
By integrating the STS SmartNS framework retailers can take advantage of STS’ award-winning EMV level 2 kernel, Emvelink, for fast, secure Chip and PIN transactions and also seamlessly accept contactless payments. By adding in the partnership with Tailwind and their unique PoS Paddle™, the retailers can roll out contactless readers without having to compromise their point of sale space or change their existing Chip and PIN terminals. This results in a simple, integrated point of interaction for both the customer and till operator.
Tailwind, strategic marketing consultancy specialising in payment systems, identified the key barriers for retailers when it came to deploying contactless technology. Initially there were only two options available, either deploy a new Chip and PIN device with an integrated contactless card reader or have a separate contactless card reader sitting alongside the existing Chip and PIN device. Neither of these options are ideal for retailers as one does not utilise the initial significant investment in Chip and PIN equipment made by retailers, while the other takes up valuable counter space. Furthermore, having two separate points of payment interaction causes confusion for both the customer and point of sale operator, especially in the cases where the system ‘upgrades’ a contactless transaction to a full Chip and PIN transaction.
Tailwind’s PoS Paddle™ addresses these issues as it is a semi-integrated device that reuses the retailer’s existing investment in Chip and PIN. It minimises the use of counter space and provides a clear landing area for contactless cards, resulting in a minimum investment for retailers to easily deploy contactless technology at their point of sale as well as providing a single point of interaction for cardholders. In addition, the STS SmartNS framework will drive both Chip and PIN and contactless card readers, ensuring the fastest transaction times possible.
The flexibility of STS’ SmartNS automatically enables the card reader to accept additional payment technologies, such as loyalty or gift cards or any future developments in payment technology.
“With the increasing interest in contactless payment technology the business case is firmly in place. By working with Tailwind Solutions, we are pleased to be able to offer a simple and adaptable contactless payment infrastructure for retailers which is compatible with virtually all points of sale,” Said Cameron Olsen, Vice President, Business Development, STS.
Garry Knox, Director for Tailwind solutions said: “Together, SmartNS and PoS Paddle™ ensure that contactless card technology will work seamlessly with Chip and PIN devices, resulting in a single, simple transaction process. Our partnership with STS provides a seamless and cost effective solution for retailers considering contactless payments.”
Ken Grubb, Director and General Manager of Secure Retail Ltd, said: “Secure Retail believes PoS Paddle™ is a product that puts the needs of retailers first. We are confident that the contactless offering will bring substantial and wide-ranging benefits to our many retail clients such as speed of service, faster transaction rates and improved cash security.”