Cash-Free Employee Cafe

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Two employee cafeterias of the German railway company, Deutsche Bahn (DB), have now gone cash-free, as the smart card-embedded employee ID now serves as the payment method. The card is electronically loaded with money from the employee’s bank account, and then read by a wireless device at the checkout, where the cost is automatically debited from the card. Wincor Nixdorf has delivered and installed important parts of the technology for the pilot tests.
 
The field trials in cafeterias in Munich and Neumünster are based on a cashless payment solution provided by Wincor Nixdorf. Additional restaurants are planned in the near future. The trials are focused on testing three important components: cashless cards, loading terminals and customer acceptance.
 
The means of payment is the company ID card, equipped with the Secure Credit Card Operating System (SECCOS) for smart card-based payments and with a wireless Near Field Communications (NFC) interface. Using their EC debit card and PIN, customers can electronically transfer money from their bank account to their smart card-embedded company ID card. Former railroad personnel, employees of contract partners and visitors use a ‘casino’ payment card that can be loaded in denominations of €10, €15, €20, €30 or €50. Cancellations and credits are also possible. A cashless card terminal at checkout debits the amount directly. Unused amounts can then be transferred back to employees’bank accounts.
 
Installed in the pilot cafeterias are Wincor Nixdorf ’s ProInfo 1000 multifunction information andtransaction terminals, equipped with DB-specific components, such as a contactless card reader, special EC cash payment unit and protective view module. The terminals, equipped with a touchless display, run application software from TCPOS, a Wincor Nixdorf partner.
 
Both cash and cashless payment are being tested over a period of about four weeks in the pilot cafeterias before the restaurants convert to fully cashless operations.