S1 Corporation (NASDAQ: SONE), a leading provider of customer interaction software solutions for financial and payments services, today announced that the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) in association with Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has implemented the first EMV-compliant, integrated EFTPOS solution in the UAE using S1’s Postilion technology. The implementation of this solution at DDF, based at Dubai International Airport and the third largest airport retailer in the world, is the first EMV EFTPOS implementation in the UAE and the Gulf Region.
Prior to selecting the Postilion system, NBD and DDF had implemented a non-EMV integrated solution for handling traditional magnetic stripe card transactions. By using Postilion, a PIN pad and card reader, DDF will have an integrated and certified EMV capability on more than 160 tills over 8,100 square metres of retail space in Dubai International Airport’s Concourse 1 and Terminals 1 and 2.
“Dubai Duty Free has provided a first-class service at its retail outlets, by being an early adopter of new technology at the point of sale throughout its 23-year history. We were the first retailer in the UAE to deploy an integrated EFTPOS solution for credit cards at cash registers in 1999, which decreased transaction times and increased accuracy for card transactions. The EMV project is another demonstration of our commitment to provide fast and secure payment processing to customers using ‘chip and PIN’ cards at retail facilities in the airport,” said Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free.
“The POS and cards payment environment in an airport is a particularly challenging one to manage effectively and securely. Every day we process nearly 7,000 credit card transactions, and we have to deal with payment cards from all over the world from a hugely diverse range of issuers,” added Ramesh Cidambi, Director I.T. & Logistics, Dubai Duty Free. “We needed a system that was open, flexible and secure. NBD recommended the Postilion solution to us and our internal I.T. team worked with NBD, S1 and Emirates Computers Company (our system integrators for the point of sale) to deliver a solution that meets our expectations.”
“We want to provide our EFTPOS retail customers with a simple and flexible card solution that will offer a secure card processing environment by ensuring EMV compliance with Visa International and MasterCard International requirements,” said Suvo Sarkar, Head of Retail Banking, National Bank of Dubai. “Postilion provides us with suitable products to meet our requirements. It was easy to install and includes standard components that provide the resilience and security levels that they expect,” he added.
Jan Kruger, VP and General Manager of S1 EME, added: “National Bank of Dubai and Dubai Duty Free are both benefiting from Postilion’s open systems approach to payments systems. We gave them a solution that meets demand ahead of the game, by delivering a flexible platform upon which new or additional services can be added as the need arises. This means that their customers can be confident in both the security and efficiency of their systems, without experiencing any interruption to service levels.”
