The technology transforming the retail industry

The number of digital and card payments has been steadily increasing over the years, with banks fretting over the possibility of a cashless future.

But cash is very much still alive – the new polymer five pound note has just been introduced to reduce the number of notes that have to be taken out of circulation, and the new 12-sided one pound coin will enter circulation in early 2017.

These notes help to prevent fraud because they are more difficult to replicate, but it is also more difficult for shop workers to identify counterfeit notes.

To avoid human error, theft and counterfeiting Glory has developed a cash counting and payments system for use with manned checkouts rather than handing money over to the cashier.

Automated machines count and collect money, containing it in a tamper proof container where it can be transferred to the bank securely for counting.

Sion Roberts, executive VP of Global Retail from Glory explains as more services are becoming automated even manned tills are beginning to replicate the digital self-checkout process, creating an environment in store where no employee has touched cash.

It also allows cashiers to focus on customer service as opposed to the process to taking, counting and returning cash.

“In the UK around 40% of transactions are cash, certain demographics prefer to use cash in certain environments,” he said.

“All that technology around payment is changing the way that trading is done.”