Hawaii Outrigger Hotel adopts RFID-based non-cash payment system AlohaPay
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Hawaii Outrigger Hotels
Outrigger Enterprises Group is the largest and fastest growing hotel service company in the Asia-Pacific region. Outrigger is a family business with 60 years of experience in the hotel industry, and operates a number of popular hotel, apartment and resort brands in Hawaii, Pacific Islands, the United States and Asia.
Currently, Outrigger Hotel in Hawaii is piloting a set of RFID non-cash payment system AlohaPay. The system was developed by the software company Enrich Systems. Through a non-contact plastic card with a function similar to a credit card, users can make non-cash payment for shopping in the hotel or other stores in the area. The card can also be used as an access card to enter and exit hotel rooms. .
Because Outrigger guest rooms use magnetic card locks, Alan M. White, Senior Deputy Director and Chief Information Officer of Outrigger, stated that AlohaPay’s RFID card contains RFID chips and magnetic strips, so that the same card can realize the two functions of shopping payment and access control.
Initially, the company tested this system in Outrigger Waikiki, selectively providing customers with RFID cards. The hotel uses a handheld RFID reader to read the ID number of the card, allowing customers to use the RFID card to pay for meals. In early July, White stated that he planned to launch the system for the first time at the Outrigger Hotel in Hawaii, and 13 retail stores in the area have agreed to adopt the system.
According to White, in the past, Outrigger worked with some retail stores to allow customers to shop in these stores, and the amount spent was paid together at the hotel checkout. However, this requires a POS connection between the hotel and each store. Two years ago, White began to conceive how to link all local shops with hotels, so that when customers go out, they can shop easily without having to carry cash or credit cards.
To this end, RFID technology provider Enrich Systems has developed a solution that embeds NXP’s passive high-frequency Mifare Ultralite chip (in compliance with ISO 14443A) in the customer’s guest room magnetic card. The program also includes software and servers running on the Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 RF platform.
When the customer arrives at the hotel, he can choose whether to use the RFID non-cash card to shop in the hotel or other local stores. If the customer agrees, he shows his credit card to the hotel, and the credit card number corresponds to the unique RFID card ID number in the hotel’s back-end system. The user can set some specific parameters, the amount of money this card allows for consumption.
In addition, the system also provides users with a PIN number as payment confirmation. The card itself only contains a chip, an ID number and a magnetic stripe used as an access control. Only the hotel LOGO is printed on the card without any personal information. When shopping, the user must enter the PIN code, otherwise the transaction cannot be completed.
Participating retail stores will use an Enrich Systems wireless POS reader to read the card’s unique ID number. The device sends data to the Enrich system through the Sprint wireless broadband connection. The latter confirms the ID number and sends the data to the hotel’s server; the server approves and records the transaction, and returns the confirmation information to the POS device to complete the transaction process.
When the user leaves the hotel, he uses his credit card to pay all the bills in one go.
For shops, using this system has several advantages: the transaction fees they pay to AlohaPay are less than the original payment to the credit card company, and this system also encourages users to spend. To the hotel industry, this system provides customers with more convenience and improves guest room satisfaction.
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