NCR: Add financial services to your shopping list as
NCR takes the next step in convenience banking
-- Interactive kiosks let consumers shop and bank
with greater ease
You can now shop for a mortgage as easily as a pair
of jeans at the Britannia Building Society branch
inside Beatties department store in Northampton. The
'in-store banking shop' uses NCR Corporation's
interactive kiosks allowing shoppers to conduct
financial business at the touch of a button without
ever leaving, the store or interrupting their regular
shopping trip.
By simply inputting your relevant details, the kiosks
can be used to give estimates on a wide array of
mortgage options to see which most suits an
individual's needs. For example, comparing the
benefits of a fixed rate mortgage with a standard
variable rate mortgage - all worked out for the
consumer's own particular circumstances.
The technology also allows shoppers to print off the
various mortgage 'illustrations' so they can take
them away and browse through them at leisure. The
kiosks can even act as children's entertainers.
Whilst parents are shopping for mortgages, children
can watch a fully animated story shown on the kiosks,
featuring Britannia's familiar 'claymation'
characters.
In addition to the kiosks, special consultants have
been fully trained by Britannia for a department
store retail environment. In Beatties, two are on
hand to answer shoppers' questions about confidential
transactions and to carry out the more traditional,
'over the counter' type transactions such as paying
in cash and cheques, opening new accounts or buying
foreign currency.
"Kiosks like these represent a growing trend in
retail banking," commented Simon Rubin. NCR's head of
self service in the UK. "NCR's own research has shown
that people like the idea of organising their
finances without the hassle of booking appointments
or going to their local branch. At Beatties they can
kill two birds with one stone - shopping and banking
in the same trip. This convergence between retail and
finance. outlets is already a common sight in the
States and it's now taking off this side of the
Atlantic."
"The automation of our branch in Beatties has been an
overwhelming success," stated Nigel Johns,
controller, distribution strategy and development for
the Britannia Building Society, "with increases in
both profitability and customer satisfaction.
Beatties is thrilled with the service we are
providing and it's an exciting new environment for
Britannia. We are now looking at expanding our range
of interactive kiosks as a direct result of this
success."
About NCR's Financial Solutions Group
NCR supplies banks and other financial institutions
with Banking Solutions in the Age of the Consumer -
solutions that are tailored to our customers'
individual needs so that they can offer the best
services to their consumers. These solutions cover
the areas of self-service, payment, channel delivery
and customer management. NCR shipped a record 42,440
ATMs worldwide in 1997, maintaining its 11th
consecutive year of world leadership, NCR also has a
market share Of more than 80 per cent in the UK.
About NCR
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a recognised world
leader in scaleable data warehousing, self-service
and store automation solutions for the retail,
financial and communications industries and other
select markets. NCR's solutions are built on the
foundation of the company's long-established industry
knowledge and consulting expertise, value-adding
software, world-leading hardware technology, global
customer support services and a complete line of
consumable and media products. More information on
NCR and its products can be found on the World Wide
Web at: http://www.ncr.com.
CONTACT: Dawn Isaac, NCR
Tel: +44 (0)171 725 8248
e-mail: [email protected]
David Butcher, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
Tel: +44 (0)171 344 1279
e-mail: [email protected]
|
