Paypoint

PayPoint One delivers cloud-based EPoS technology, contactless card payments and the Collect+ parcel service

PayPoint could retire its legacy terminals ahead of schedule with independents rapidly taking up the new-generation PayPoint One system.

The updated all-in-one retail services platform has now been installed in more than 10,000 convenience stores - a conversion of more than half of its UK estate.

PayPoint marketing director Steve O’Neill said the plan was to retire the legacy terminals at the end of 2019.

“But if we have the opportunity to turn it off sooner because people are taking PayPoint One devices quicker, we will. By that point it will be about 15 years old.

“We want as many people as possible to have the device but we recognise not everyone will want to move over.

Read more: Nisa urges retailers to upgrade software to avoid hackers

“I think in round numbers we are targeting the other 8,000-9,000 yellow terminals that are out there but acknowledging that some of those businesses might not even exist by the time we get to the end of 2019.”

O’Neill said the important thing was that stores had been given plenty of notice so they had time to weigh up what was right for their business and make long-term plans.

PayPoint commercial director Lewis Alcraft added: “It’s great to see thousands of retailers benefiting from the enhanced experience and business insight that PayPoint One brings.

“Feedback has been extremely positive, and we’re committed to continually enhancing the platform with new features, including an iOS version of our free mobile app launching in the next few months.”

The continued rollout of PayPoint One comes as the new platform suffered its second apparent glitch this summer - what O’Neill called “a little outage” on Saturday morning (1 September) that affected online transactions such as Collect+ and top-up transactions.

He called it “a technical glitch at our end” that lasted an hour and was quickly fixed.

The outage in July was more widespread, affecting “a couple of thousand” people unable to top up their electricity and gas.

PayPoint One delivers cloud-based EPoS technology, contactless card payments and PayPoint services such as bill payments and the Collect+ parcel service. It will shortly go live with a strategic partnership with eBay, giving the online marketplace access to the Collect+ network’s click & collect services.