By: Behshad Hastibakhsh - kiosks.org
Across the United States, self-serve technology is reshaping the
financial services landscape for more than 30 million unbanked
households that until now have been mainly dependent on the alternative
banking system for cashing checks and paying bills in cash or with money
orders. With the growing consumer acceptance for interactive
self-serve technology, leading convenience stores and retailers
recognize new opportunity areas in empowering their customers with
convenient, secure and reliable access to self-serve automated financial
services.
Thanks to a new innovative program, Info Touch Technologies Corp (
www.infotouch.net),
a strategic investment of Hewlett Packard, is merging the best in kiosk
and ATM technology to facilitate offer bill pay and financial services
to the ‘cash preferred’. Bill payment and financial services
are the ‘hottest kiosk application’ and will be available on
standalone TIO terminals and multifunctional kiosks powered by TIO.
Meet TIO
TIO is the umbrella brand for the network of bill pay and financial
services kiosks that have been deployed in major convenience stores such
as Circle K, ExxonMobil, Speedway SuperAmerica, Kum&Go, NOCO,
Maverik, and Mac’s / CoucheTard. These ATM-like electronic
terminals enable the ‘cash preferred’ to pay their wireless,
utility, cable and other bills, and/or purchase pre-paid products and
services (such as long distance and directory assistance).
Hamed Shahbazi, Info Touch’s CEO, elaborates his vision: “We have
built the largest and most convenient multi-retailer national network of
self-service financial services for the ‘cash preferred’
demographic. TIO currently allows ‘cash preferred’ consumers
to access bill pay and financial services in more than 22 states, Puerto
Rico and British Columbia. The network is growing quickly in new
and existing markets”.
Consumer Focused
TIO, which means ‘uncle’ in Spanish, is a name trusted even by those
who are uncomfortable with using banks, credit unions and other
traditional financial institutions.
The reason is simple: TIO provides secure access to financial services
while respecting the dignity, culture and ethnic background of its
users.
This is particularly important to the estimated 20 million undocumented
immigrants who seek better job opportunities in the United States and
send money to their families back home. These undocumented
immigrants (mainly from Mexico and other Latin American countries)
constitute the majority of unbanked individuals who work hard to conceal
their identities. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 39% of
surveyed Latino immigrants cite legal status as a concern for opening
bank accounts. Undocumented immigrants make up the single largest
underground labor force that engages in cash-based transactions for bill
payment, check cashing, money order, money transfer and other financial
services. The unbanked often take risks and pay high costs for
basic financial services.
“TIO alleviates risks and high costs associated with in-person service
at currency exchanges, payday lenders and check cashing centers”,
Shahbazi explains. “TIO turns the unbanked into self-banked.
It is all about convenience and service”.
The ‘cash preferred’ customer can use the interactive menu in
English or Spanish and follow a few simple steps to obtain real-time
account information, process payments, update the balance, and get a
print confirmation. For the millions of ‘cash preferred’, this
amounts to financial freedom and personal empowerment.
What is next for TIO?
TIO’s success is a testament to Info Touch’s innovative approach to
offer value-conscious consumers automated bill pay and financial
services for an affordable convenience fee.
With phenomenal growth opportunities in leveraging technology to serve
the unbanked, Info Touch will soon add money order, money transfer,
prepaid credit and debit cards, check cashing and mobile content to an
already rich portfolio of financial services.
