Postal Services Go Mobile With Escher's Distributed Solution

BOSTON, February 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- 'Mobile for Retail' a Reality for the First Time and Helps Posts Take Their Services to New Markets

Global postal counter automation expert Escher Group has launched a mobile solution that takes services traditionally found in post offices and delivers them in new locations - in shops, hotels or directly to the customer's doorstep.

MobileRiposte(TM) is so versatile and easy to use that it promises to open new markets for postal operators and heralds a new future for the postman: as a provider of a broader range of products and services rather than simply a deliverer of mail.

Whilst consumers have become increasingly used to interacting with postal organizations through mobile devices - for example, signing for deliveries on handheld track-and-trace devices or buying train tickets onboard using mobile credit card terminals - many devices are specific to a single purpose or cumbersome when interacting with back-office systems.

In contrast, by employing the intuitive Windows Mobile operating system and by capturing data in a way that integrates seamlessly with the organization's back-office, Escher's MobileRiposte(TM) enables a full range of services to be delivered from a single handheld device with the same security and reliability of that achieved in post office branch offices.

MobileRiposte(TM) helps post offices expand their services into new markets including retailers and other business premises; offering their customers a wider choice of locations to acquire services traditionally provided only in the post office - including payments, phone top-ups, foreign exchange and tickets.

For example, with MobileRiposte(TM), post offices can provide hotels with a complete standalone foreign currency application, whereby hotels offer guests currency exchange at the prevailing rate at the time the transaction occurs - instead of using less accurate, fixed daily rates. This allows the post office to compete more effectively with banks and high street currency exchanges and gives hotels a whole new line of business.

Easy interaction; always available

MobileRiposte(TM) is ideal for disconnected networks or where connectivity cannot always be guaranteed, such as remote offices that have limited bandwidth. Because MobileRiposte(TM) uses broadly available GPRS or GSM mobile connectivity, branch services can be delivered anywhere, any time - a vital competitive tool for post offices in the face of other web-based or mobile services. MobileRiposte(TM) also offers other significant benefits, most notably:

    
    - A graphical user interface that is simplicity itself and mimics the
      broader Riposte(R) interface that is relied upon throughout the world 
      to deliver retail service.

    - Robust design for connectivity over mobile communications networks.
      Optimized for GPRS and GSM, the software is designed to expect and 
      tolerate failure so that the service never suffers.

    - Access to a broad range of transactions that goes beyond the normal
      mobile applications - including letter or package tracking, retail of 
      tickets and gift cards, bill payment, banking services and currency 
      exchange.

    - Consolidation and reconciliation of all transactions into a central
      location for reconciliation and analysis with third party systems.

Escher Group President and Chief Executive Liam Church said: "As organizations seek ways to reach customers in the way that customers want to be reached, mobile devices are becoming more and more important. But, in terms of organization, many systems leave much to be desired."

"MobileRiposte(TM) integrates many applications in a way that's a help - not a hindrance - for operators during their busy working day and, crucially, it doesn't cause more work in the back office."

At present, many mobile devices record transactions in non-standard formats, which means that data must be re-inputted to meet accounting needs or for reporting to third parties. However, as Liam Church noted: "By using established transactional coding, MobileRiposte(TM) provides a practical back-end solution as well as a revenue-generation front-end one. With its unique award-winning intuitive interface, MobileRiposte(TM) makes 'mobile for retail' a reality for the first time."

About Escher Group Limited:

With a history of over 20 years in providing solutions for counter automation, Escher has developed a unique understanding of the business of Posts across the globe and its R&D efforts continue to provide innovative technological solutions. Escher helps to cost-effectively modernize and streamline the Posts' offer of a trusted, secure and inclusive communication service between businesses, consumers and government. For more information visit http://www.eschergroup.com