Skynet merchant services

[Dave Birch] Forum friend Leo van Hove pointed me to what may well turn out to be my favourite digital money web story of all time, a story that has literally everything: payments, POS terminals, innovation, mobile phones, Japan, contactless interfaces, biometrics and GIANT KILLER ROBOTS. OK, perhaps I’m, letting my imagination get ahead on that last point, but who can resist when you see a picture like this…

Yes, it’s The Terminator, APACS 30/40/50 version, otherwise known as the NEC iExpo 2008 prototype.

NEC’s payment terminal is modeled after a life-size android. Its torso has a touch screen panel where you can choose the e-money icon you need… the company hopes it will sell to establishments that need a reader for FeLiCa-enabled cell phones. The machines are also equipped with cameras for face recognition.

[From NEC Designs FeLiCa Payment Terminal Robot – Gearlog]

Please enter your PIN now… you have twenty seconds to comply. Given the recent discussions about POS-based card crime in the UK, perhaps there’s a breakthrough product here. Hey, bad fraud guys, try tampering with this…

We’ve along history of being fascinated by the intersection of payments, robots, POS and contactless technologies at Consult Hyperion, as you can see in this video, so I just couldn’t resist highlighting this story!

These opinions are my own (I think) and presented solely in my capacity as an interested member of the general public [posted with ecto]