The Irish Post Office has equipped its nationwide network of counters with chip card terminals and Pinpads from Trintech under a programme to offer branch banking services to customers of Allied Irish Banks (AIB).
The deployment, which includes Trintech's compact 950-PP POS Terminals and PayWare Software, enables An Post to offer AIB Bank customers the facility to carry out banking transactions throughout its network of over 1000 automated post offices, compared with 280 AIB branches nationally. The technology was integrated by IBM Global Services.
The new Pinpad technology allows An Post to securely encrypt a cardholder's PIN and integrates with the post office branch counter automation system. The smart card enabled Pinpad will allow the future acceptance of smart card transactions compatible with the global EMV standard endorsed by the major card associations.
Enda Kelly, An Post's head of business banking, says: "We are very pleased with the successful roll-out, which was completed ahead of schedule and has allowed the launch of a popular new service throughout An Post's automated branch network."
In addition to the Pinpads, An Post licensed Trintech's secure key management software, PayWare Pinpad Manager, and a software development toolkit (PayWare SDK) to allow An Post to add additional applications for the Pinpads.
Dermot Ennis, AIB Bank's, programme manager says the project represents a major deployment of chip and PIN infrastructure and is a step toward preparation for EMV smart card migration in Ireland.