How to Bill Jams at Your Kiosk

Bill jams are commonplace when your kiosk accepts cash payments. No matter how advanced the bill acceptor, there’s always that guy that inserts a bill covered in mud, or something worse, and gums up the device.

Source: blog.kiosksimple.com

Good pointer on EBDS and the Crane/MEI SC bill acceptors for kiosks.  Bill Jam is a supported error code for sure.  For multiple BAs too I would recommend native COM ports.

TGI Fridays test new tablet and kiosk technologies

Casual-dining chain’s tests tablets; burger brand tests kiosks, supplier Microsoft says

Source: nrn.com

Fridays’ tablet test uses new “Fridays Service Style” technology based on Windows 8.1 with Oracle’s MICROS Restaurant Enterprise Solution (RES) 5.4 on the Dell Venue mTablet E-Series mobile point-of-sale devices, the Redmond, Wash.-based software company said.

Microsoft helps Hardee’s sell burgers with Windows 8.1-powered Dell kiosks

One of my favorite things in the world is playing with computers. Whether building them or using them, I am as happy as can be. We computer nerds get hungry, however, and we need to fuel our bodies. Sure, some of us nerds eat healthy (Mark Wilson is a vegetarian), but fast food and caffeinated beverages are still staples in many of our nerdy diets.

Source: betanews.com

The best writeup on new MS CKE venture. Dell mentioned. Maybe we are overly critical but what is with the selection screen checkboxes.  Looks like something from late 90s website.

NRF: Microsoft, NCR on deck with new self-service tech | ZDNet

At the National Retail Federation trade show, tech vendors are displaying a mix of self-service devices designed to drive higher sales and create repeat shoppers.

Source: www.zdnet.com

NCR, Wincor, Microsoft, CKE Restaurants, Intel, TGI Fridays, Oracle, Dell, Beef-O-Bradys, Hardee’s, Carl Jr, Panasonic are the companies noted.

Dayton leads state in court kiosk check-in

It’s a busy day in Montgomery County Domestic Relations Court. Dozens of people are waiting for their divorce hearings. Receptionist Sheila Jarvis keeps it

Source: wvxu.org

Here’s how it works:

  • You type in your name
  • Type in your birth date
  • List the number of witnesses you have
  • The machine points you in the direction of your courtroom

Order up: Hardee’s and Microsoft pilot customer self-order kiosks running on Windows

At the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & EXPO on Monday, Microsoft Corp. and CKE Restaurants Inc. showcase a self-order kiosk solution running on Windows 8 devices that enables Hardee’s customers to customize and place their own orders. 

Source: www.prnewswire.com

The Hardee’s pilot project is one of several Microsoft retail customer deployments being shown at the NRF Big Show in New York. Microsoft is working with retailers, including GameStop and TGI Friday’s Inc., to showcase seamless and personalized experiences being delivered in real time through the cloud and on smart devices. Additional information about Microsoft’s presence at NRF can be found here.

Self-service technology gets retailer’s mobile engagement rate licked into shape

Total Gym has observed that while mobile traffic continues to increase, conversion rates remain lower on smartphones as compared to desktops and tablets. This is likely a result of the casual browsing mentality of smartphone visitors who are conducting initial research. There are opportunities to better engage smartphone visitors by optimizing usability and related design, recognizing the different nuances in smartphone user behavior versus desktop and tablet.

Source: internetretailing.net

On the whole, live chat is responsible for more than 70% of orders that TouchCommerce secures for Total Gym through its online engagement program. However, in a recent A/B test on Total Gym’s site, visitors coming from smartphones were five times more likely to engage with an automated mobile guide than click to chat to assist in the early stage navigation of the site. This supports the notion that shoppers have a different browsing mentality when visiting a retail website on their smartphones versus desktops and tablets.

Xpedient Partners to Provide Self-Serve Kiosk Solutions to QuickChek C-Store Foodservice Operation

LOUISVILLE, KY–(Marketwired – January 08, 2015) – Xpedient, a wholly owned subsidiary of Advanced Solutions, Inc., has partnered with QuickChek to provide self-serve kiosk software to their entire convenience store foodservice operation.A market leader in food services, QuickChek is a New Jersey-based convenience store chain, operating 137 retail locations throughout…

Source: www.marketwired.com

How to Make Your Kiosk Dispense Cash Like a Cashier

The ability to dispense cash from your kiosk can be invaluable for making change and reducing the need for human cashiers.  Traditional bill acceptors only accept cash, but bill recyclers have the ability to both accept and dispense cash like a human cashier

Source: blog.kiosksimple.com

Your customers will appreciate your kiosks giving them change in bills, rather than dispensing a mountain of coins.

Even worse than dispensing coins is being mailed a check for the change.  Yes, I’ve actually seen this done.

So why would you ever use a regular bill acceptor again?

For all of the upsides of dispensing cash from a kiosk, there are a few downsides which you should be aware of:

  • Bill recyclers are bulky and may not fit into your existing kiosk without modifications.  This can often be overcome through the use of an external enclosure.
  • Bill recyclers are expensive, typically a few thousand dollars.  This can be offset by the savings of reducing or eliminating cashier window hours.
  • Bill recyclers are complicated devices that can take months to integrate into your kiosk application. Keep reading to learn how to cut the integration time way down from several months to a few weeks or even days.

I didn’t scare you off?  Great, keep reading to learn more about dispensing cash from your kiosk with a bill recycler.

The 3 Steps for Adding a Bill Recycler to Your KioskStep 1: Selecting the right bill recycler

Crane makes several bill recyclers, our favorite of which is the MEI BNR (video below).

The MEI branded BNR (Bank Note Recycler) links MEI’s industry leading cash accepting technology with a robust four denomination recycling system. The MEI BNR was designed to mimic cash handling capabilities of a human cashier yet provides greater security and cash management benefits.

The BNR’s modular design leave the configuration capabilities wide open making it ideal for applications in self-checkout, retail payment, financial services and transport markets.

When deciding on a bill recycler you also need to take into consideration your kiosk operating system.  If you’re running Android, good luck finding a bill recycler with an SDK for that operating system.

The Windows operating system offers the greatest number of bill recycler options due to the popularity of the OS.

Step 2: Integrating the bill recycler into your kiosk application

You have a couple options when integrating a bill recycler into your kiosk application.

The first option is to use the manufacturers SDK.  This is for experts only due to the complex nature of bill recyclers and long integration times.  For example, MEI said their typical integration time for the MEI BNR is 9 to 18 months.

Using the manufacturers SDK is too time consuming and complicated for most people.

The second and more attractive option is to take advantage of kiosk software which already supports your bill recycler.  KioskSimple offers a very affordable plugin for the MEI BNR which makes it possible to integrate the bill recycler into your kiosk application in anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

The savings in development costs is MASSIVE when you take advantage of the right kiosk software.

You also need to take into account if your kiosk application is a website or native application.  I’m not aware of any bill recyclers with a JavaScript SDK for website integration.

This is why we developed the KioskSimple MEI BNR Plugin to support JavaScript, making it easy to integrate the bill recycler into your website.  We also support .NET C# for native WPF applications.

Step 3: Quality Assurance Testing

Dispensing bills is risky business because there’s no way to get the cash back if you make a mistake (other than the goodness of your customer’s hearts).

It’s critical that you test the hell out of your kiosk application to ensure that everything is running smoothly, especially when dispensing cash.

Ready, set, integrate!

Ready to get started integrating the MEI BNR with KioskSimple?  Checkout our detailed MEI BNR code examples in .NET WPF C# and JavaScript.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.  We offer free phone and email support for developers!

…Or let us do it for you

Want some help integrating the MEI BNR into your kiosk application?

We’re happy to lend a helping hand with the integration, even if you’re not a KioskSimple customer.  Our kiosk consultants are available to come alongside your team and get your bill recycler integrated quickly.

Next week I’ll be releasing an article on the pitfalls of dispensing cash from your kiosk.  Please subscribe to our blog emailing list to receive regular blog updates.

Heard on the Street: Mayo Clinic expands kiosk system to Austin schools

The kiosk provides high-definition videoconferencing and interactive, digital medical devices that connect patients with physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Source: www.postbulletin.com

The kiosks offer Mayo Clinic Health Connection — a new telemedicine delivery system through the HealthSpot platform, which combines cloud-based software and a private walk-in kiosk that offers medical treatment at the workplace.


The kiosk provides high-definition videoconferencing and interactive, digital medical devices that connect patients with physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Visionstate’s Digital Signage Network in U.S. Shopping Malls

Source: www.avnetwork.com

Those kiosks are to supply each shopping mall with interactive wayfinding and directory software (Virtual Interactive Client Care Interface – “ViCCi”) that will allow shoppers to find exactly what they are looking for at CBL’s shopping centers — whether products, shops, services or amenities — through Visionstate’s proprietary interactive touch technology.

CEO Corner – Mike James with Kiosk Group

CEO Corner Where we talk to “Big Cheese” and find out a little bit about who they are and what company they are with. The choice of who you do business may come down to the look in the eye and a si…

Source: kioskindustry.org

Ten questions interview with Mike James of Kiosk Group.

Ford deploys kiosks to push F-150

But even before the new Ford F-150s arrive in showrooms in large numbers, some dealerships can give shoppers a good look at the redesigned pickup truck with video kiosks.

Source: www.autonews.com

“Truth About Trucks” kiosks being installed this month in about 1,900 dealerships are part of a huge effort by Ford to educate consumers and salespeople, a testament to how crucial the F-150 is to the automaker and its retailers. The $5,000 interactive kiosks promote the trucks’ improved capabilities and fuel efficiency and show why Ford chose to use an aluminum body instead of steel.