Worldline, Toshiba Partner On Hybrid Checkout Kiosk

European payments and transactional services firm Worldline has announced it will bring Toshiba’s Pro-X Hybrid Kiosk to market, helping retailers optimize the layout of their stores through a more flexible approach to the point of sale and providing a more sophisticated checkout experience.

The kiosk can be used both as a traditional register and as a self-checkout station, expanding self-service touchpoints where necessary, saving retailers valuable counter space without keeping customers waiting, according to a Monday (June 7) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

The format is especially beneficial for retailers such as convenience stores and small grocery stores, the press release noted, as well as businesses in the hospitality industry.

“The self-service industry continues to evolve as retailers across all retail segments invest in digital capabilities to support shoppers’ expectations of low-contact checkout,” Rob Macintyre, European business development executive of Toshiba, said in the press release.

The Pro-X Hybrid Kiosk, which will process payments via Worldline’s LANE/3000 terminal, further strengthens the firm’s partnership with retail technology firm Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions.  The Pro-X Hybrid has been piloted in Europe.

With its commerce tools, Toshiba aims to “remove the lines between the online and offline,” in stores, Yevgeni Tsirulnik, vice president of Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions’ Digital Platform Products, told PYMNTS in a recent conversation.

Frictionless checkout can mean the end to waiting in lines — as well as the end of shelf stockouts.

“It’s up to the retailer to decide where and how they’re going to [do] checkout,” Tsirulnik said. “It doesn’t have to be the point of sale. You can check out on your mobile. You can check out without touching your mobile. Or you can check out in the environment where all of your items are being added and you’re checking out [via] the front end. Basically, that will transform the way the store looks like.”