Albron Selects Equens for 'Quick and Easy Payments'

UTRECHT, The Netherlands, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Albron, the largest independent caterer in the Netherlands, is to begin offering biometric and contactless payments in its restaurants in cooperation with Equens. Today, Albron and Equens signed a contract for the service Snel en Simpel Betalen  [Quick and Easy Payments].

Snel en Simpel Betalen has two main benefits, namely speed at the cash register and payment convenience. This among other things means shorter waiting times and eliminates the inconvenience of topping up and checking your balance. Users of Snel en Simpel Betalen can pay at all times, and can keep constant track of their outgoings in their online and monthly statements.

Albron will from now on be offering Snel en Simpel Betalen to its clients, and plans to implement the solution in as many of its restaurants as possible in the Netherlands. Guests at Albron's restaurants will then be able to choose whether they wish to pay biometrically (using their finger) or contactlessly (using a Near Field Communication debit card). The time and technology are ripe for biometric payments - the most user-friendly payment method on the market. Biometric payments are twice as fast as paying using a conventional debit card, and highly secure thanks to identification by means of a combination of the fingerprint and the finger's vein patterns. In recent years, Equens has acquired extensive experience in applying this technology in various pilots, one of which was conducted at Albron's headquarters.

Hans Jacobs, General Manager of Operations at Albron: "With Snel en Simpel Betalen, Albron is acquiring the ultimate ease of payment for its guests. For our guests, the possibility to pay biometrically means that they no longer need to bring anything with them to pay at the cash register. What's more, it's super-quick, which enables us to serve our guests more quickly. Equens' many years of experience assures us reliable and scalable solutions."

Dave Rietveld, Innovations Manager at Equens SE: "We are delighted that Albron has embraced our Snel en Simpel Betalen service. We are continuously trying to improve payments and increase the ease of the processes. For us, customer-driven innovation is a vital part of this. Equens wants to remain a trendsetter in order to support the purchase experience of the end-users at our clients as effectively as possible."

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Note for the editorial staff

About Albron

Albron BV is the largest independent caterer in the Netherlands, and operates in almost every sector of the catering market. With its workforce of approximately 6,000 people, Albron provides food and drink at more than 1,000 locations across the country. These include businesses, government agencies, schools, hospitals and healthcare institutions, hotel and leisure facilities, and at parties and events.

For more information on Albron, please visit http://www.albron.nl

About Equens

Equens SE is the first payment processor with pan-European market coverage. It serves clients and partnerships from its offices in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Finland. With an annual processing volume of 9.9 billion payments and 4.1 billion POS and ATM transactions, Equens SE has a European market share of more than 12.5%.

For more information on Equens, please visit http://www.equens.com