Bleep EPOS systems take gold at Rio 2016

Bleep UK PLC, the Leyland-based designer, manufacturer and supplier of touch screen EPOS systems, deployed 450 EPOS terminals for the in venue retail stores at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

This represented a new challenge for the firm, as it was one thing supplying the same event in London but another in a foreign country over 5,000 miles away. Not to mention, this event came one month after supplying another highlight of the sporting calendar, the UEFA EURO 2016 Championships in France.

Each terminal featured an intelligent customer facing video display to engage with customers at the point of sale in the form of upselling and advertisements from sponsors and partners, such as Visa.

The Bleep system is a multi-currency, multi-language solution with no single point of failure. Each EPOS terminal within the network is a master in its own right and every terminal receives data from each other, preventing data loss and ensuring reliability. Terminals can operate offline and self-heal when the network is reconnected and back online.

Due to the footfall in all of these stores during events, fast transactions were essential to ensure a quick and efficient customer experience. Customers could pay using cash or Visa cards, with the latest payment methods in contactless and Apply Pay accepted, where transactions could be processed in as little as 3 seconds. Visa also trialled some new payment innovations at these games in the form of NFC payment wearables, like a ring and bracelet, in addition to Olympic theme commemorative pre-paid cards.

Gordon Bolton, managing director of Bleep UK PLC, said: “This has been a very busy summer of sporting events for Bleep UK PLC. We strive to provide the biggest and best events and stadia across the globe, not just on our doorstep in the UK, but where ever they are. "What we achieved at London 2012 has opened many doors for us as a business and while this approach has been risky due to the high profile nature of these events, we believe in our credentials as a designer, manufacturer and supplier of EPOS solutions and were always confident that we could excel in these high pressured environments.”