EXETER, N.H. -- Abierto Networks and EchoSat Communications said that they have completed the first phase of a program to bring their high-speed payment solution to nearly 1,600 Cenex-branded retail gas station sites across North America. Abierto and EchoSat worked with CHS Inc., which owns the Cenex brand, to deliver a turnkey solution that enables high-speed transactions (point of sale, ATM and related electronic funds transfer transactions) over standard broadband Internet connections.
"Our team set out to deploy an intelligent and scalable system that leveraged everyone's core competencies," [image-nocss] said Rick Sales, president of Abierto. "The goal was to provide a seamless deployment experience with an incredibly high success rate, and I believe that we have been extremely successful in this endeavor."
Systems integration allowed all parties to trade information in real time while activating and monitoring equipment and services at several hundred locations over a short period of time, the companies said.
"Credit card and ATM transaction times have been reduced dramatically," said Andrew Ernst, product consultant, CHS Payment Solutions. "With the Abierto-EchoSat solution, our retailers have gained a true competitive advantage—the ability to process customer transactions efficiently, securely and reliably while still providing the highest level of customer service to their clients."
The CHS program is compliant with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards.
"The CHS implementation, deployed through its network of Cenex-branded retailers is very innovative, and demonstrates what can be done when strategic partners combine forces to create custom solutions that drive faster, more secure credit card and related POS transactions over the Internet to multiple endpoints," said Spencer Rutherford, president of EchoSat.
"Not only does the technology work great, but Abierto and EchoSat are very responsive to our needs and deliver a first-rate customer support experience for CHS employees and customers alike," said Paul Culver, credit card and business development manager for CHS.
Future program phases will increase the number of retailers using the solution and will deliver additional functionality and services to Cenex retailers as well as other retail customers of CHS Payment Solutions.
Exeter, N.H.-based Abierto is a solutions provider and integrator of electronic payment technologies, specializing in the convenience store and retail petroleum industry. The Abierto Gateway line of Serial and Dial-to-IP Converters enables retailers to redeploy existing POS and payment terminals over high-speed IP connections, delivering fast, secure and reliable IP transactions to more than 30 certified credit card, ATM, check, gift card, fleet fueling card and loyalty processors. Through its network of strategic technology partners, Abierto delivers integrated hardware, software and services solutions that meet the needs of retail clients in North America and beyond.
EchoSat, a division of The Tower Group, Lexington, Ky., is a supplier of secure data communications services for c-store, petroleum, retail, utility and grocery markets. It provides PCI compliant EFT transaction transport solutions to multiple end-points over broadband Internet with EchoSat's Secure Payment Gateway (SPG). EchoSat is a provider of SurfBeam broadband IP satellite services in conjunction with satellite provider SES. With the SurfBeam technology, EchoSat can provide both broadband functionality and SPG services to areas not covered by traditional terrestrial broadband services, it said. EchoSat delivers modular service packages, as well as value-added custom communication solutions, in the United States and other countries.
CHS is a diversified energy, grains and foods company based in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. It is owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives, along with thousands of preferred stockholders, from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest and from the Canadian border to Texas. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex-brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.